Research shows that babies who have lost Grade 3 and 4 hearing ability and have had hearing aids installed at an early stage do not significantly differ in development from their healthy peers, according to the Ministry of Health Press Service.
If hearing correction is carried out after 6 months, such children significantly lag in speech development. Therefore, it is important to check and treat a newborn's hearing ability in a timely manner.
Audiometric screening is conducted on the 3rd day after a baby is born. If there is a suspicion of hearing impairment, a second stage of screening is carried out in regional multispecialty medical centers for children, and if hearing impairment is confirmed, the child is referred to the Republican Specialized Scientific-Practical Medical Center of Pediatrics.
— At the age of three months, the baby undergoes detailed examinations at the Republican Specialized Scientific-Practical Medical Center of Pediatrics, and if hearing impairment is confirmed again, digital hearing devices are installed for the baby at the expense of the state, from 3 to 6 months old, — says Azamat Razakov, Deputy Director for Medical Affairs at the center. — From the age of nine months to one year, the child is prepared for cochlear implant surgery while equipped with hearing devices.
In these cases, babies do not differ in development from their normal-hearing peers.
In our country, by 2024, about 500,000 newly born boys and girls will undergo audiometric screening, and 325 of them will be diagnosed with hearing defects, and these toddlers are currently undergoing rehabilitation and treatment stages.
The Republican Specialized Scientific-Practical Medical Center of Pediatrics and its branches in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, and Samarkand region are equipped with special medical devices, and they are fully setting up the cochlear implant surgery by 2025.
For your information: Cochlear implantation surgeries aim to restore hearing capacity by stimulating the inner ear and are carried out in individuals with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss of Grade 3 and 4 or deafness. The operation yields more positive results when conducted before the child reaches the age of 5.
The implants, purchased with state budget funds, are provided free of charge to boys and girls under the age of 5, and the surgery and postoperative rehabilitation measures are also carried out free of charge.
Rehabilitation process is individually developed for each child and is the responsibility of the parents or their substitutes.
The participation of patients in post-cochlear implantation rehabilitation measures is monitored by reporting to the local district (city) medical association about the surgery within two weeks by the center.
Patient children are brought to the center within four weeks after the cochlear implant surgery to activate the speech processor. This device is activated by the center's audiologist specialists.
The hearing processor is replaced by the state funds after seven years from the operation conducted on the children.
