LAHORE   -     Post-graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Principal Professor Dr Sardar Muhammad Al-freed Zafar Tuesday announced that cochlear implant surgery for treatment of born deaf children would be started at Lahore General Hospital (LGH) very soon.

He was talking to the media on the occasion of the awareness walk held at LGH on World Hearing Day. The walk was attended by ENT Dept head of department Prof Dr Tahir Rashid, Audiologist Dr Samina Farooqi and a large number of doctors, nurses and paramedics participated who were holding placards inscribed with slogans in reference to the International Hearing Day and health and security of ears. The PGMI principal said that it would be a breakthrough for hearing impaired children as they would be rehabilitated by improving their routine life and enabling them to lead a normal practice.

Prof Dr Tahir Rasheed said that the noise pollution, car horns, constant noise, use of loudspeakers, musical instruments and hands free affect hearing and such people were accustomed to hear and speak loudly. “Those who live in this environment for a long time and then they do not even hear the conversation on low frequency”, he added.  Medical experts said that according to a conservative estimate, 430 million people worldwide and 30 million children suffer from some of hearing loss which was a matter of great concern.