Date:28/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/28/stories/2008112850120200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Invisible hearing device introduced

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The Madras ENT Research Foundation has introduced an imported invisible hearing device, which can be surgically implanted into a person, said Mohan Kameswaran, Managing Director of the Foundation here on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters in Chennai, Dr. Kameswaran said the device could be used by someone who was partially deaf.

The device used the eardrum as a natural microphone, picking up sounds through the ear canal and reducing background noise, distortion and acoustic feedback that people would experience with the conventional hearing aids, he said.

Dr. Kameswaran had performed this hearing restoration procedure on three persons in Chennai recently. This is the first of its kind in South, Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific region, including Japan and Australia, he claimed.

The device could be implanted in adults 18 years and above.

The surgery would take between five and seven hours.

The stitches would be removed on the 10th day and three months after the surgery, the device could be activated giving time for the wounds to heal, Dr. Kameswaran said.

“The device is not meant for everyone, it is a high-end lifestyle product, which will cost Rs.10 lakh and Rs.50,000 for the surgery,” Dr. Kameswaran added.