Eunice (left) and Renee.
KUCHING: Two three-year-old girls with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss are racing against time for Cochlear implantation to ensure their best chance of living a normal life.
For Eunice Renatto and Renee Ngien, both from Sibu, the insertion of Cochlear implants can enhance their hearing ability. Once they can hear, they can slowly learn to speak and hopefully lead a normal life.
There is a time window for the implants to work effectively for these two children. The earlier they get the implants, the higher the chance for them to hear ambient sounds and learn speech. The best time is before the children are around one to two years old.
The next golden time window is before the children are four years old as their brain can still adapt to the implants. After that, the effectiveness of the implants diminishes and studies have shown there is a reduced chance for the children to speak properly despite improved hearing through Cochlear implants.
That is why Ear Nose Throat specialist Dr Tang Ing Ping is racing against time to install these hearing implants for both Eunice and Renee.
Eunice was born with hearing disability while Renee lost her hearing at about one and a half years old due to bouts of fever caused by chicken pox and later coxsackie.
Presently, Renee can only utter two words – bye-bye and papa while Eunice only mama.
Learning these words may be so simple for normal children but it took one year of hard work and practice for Renee to say bye-bye.
“It took me a year to teach her (Renee) to say bye-bye,” Renee’s mum Helen Ngu, 27, told thesundaypost.
It has been painful for both Helen, and Eunice’s mum Priscilla Beginda, 29, to witness daily the frustration of their children – having so much to say yet unable to express themselves.
“The implants are important to them. Only when they can hear, can they then learn to speak. Now it’s so difficult. They can only point with their fingers and cry but we don’t know what they want. If they can hear and talk, then we can give them what they want. They don’’ have to go through so much frustration,” Helen said.
Both mums hope to see their children get the implants earlier so that the young ones will not miss the golden opportunity to learn and grow up like other children.
Dr Tang Ing Ping
Meanwhile, Dr Tang said global statistics showed among 1,000 newborns, one to five may be born with hearing loss and there are no identifiable risk factors in 50 per cent of these hearing-impaired children.
A general estimation of the population with this disability in Sarawak is impossible as some may be living in the rural areas where their cases are not reported.
In Sarawak, a universal newborn screening programme has started in three major hospitals since this year with the joint efforts of the ENT, Audiology and Paediatric departments.
This programme will detect newborns with hearing loss earlier to allow definite intervention as soon as possible.
Early quality intervention, according to Dr Tang, is crucial as disabled children can learn better when they are younger, thus giving them a higher chance to live normally when they grow up.
On the need for cochlear implantation by children suffering hearing loss in Sarawak, Dr Tang said of the known cases, there were two more children in Sibu and three more respectively in Miri and Sibu on the waiting list.
Time is of the essence for these disabled children to reap the best benefits of the implants. The problem, however, has been the lack of funds in purchasing the implants which may cost about RM70,000 for each.
Even for cases of Renee and Eunice, funds have to be raised as the fathers to both girls are low income earners — one is a mechanic and the other, a lorry driver.
To help Renee and Eunice, Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and KTS Foundation have agreed to sponsor when approached and informed of the urgency of these two cases.
“RM70,000 is only good enough to buy one implant. I’m planning to negotiate with the company manufacturing these implants to give me a buy one and get one free deal. The two implants we get will then be shared by the two girls,” Dr Tang said.
It is learnt the deal has already been clinched.
Dr Tang, a medical lecturer from University Malaysia Sarawak who serves as otologist and skull base surgeon for the ENT Department at Sarawak General Hospital, said due to the lack of funds, stringent screenings over eight months were done from Sibu Hospital before the decision was made to pick Renee and Eunice.
“As funding is very limited, we have to make sure those given the implants can really get the best benefits. The two girls are found to be intelligent and have no other forms of disability.
“They are both three years old and still in time for the brain to adapt well,” said Dr Tang who has performed five implant surgeries in Sarawak on patients who could afford them.
He believes cochlear implantation for children with hearing loss is only the beginning. After the surgery, much effort must be placed on audio and speech therapy to help the children learn to speak and lead a normal life.
Dr Toh Teck Hock, secretary of the Association for Children with Special Needs, Sibu, who has referred the cases of Renee and Eunice to Dr Tang, reminded the general public there must a correct understanding that cochlear implants are not answers to all hearing loss cases.
“The implants may be effective for some and not for others. Every case of a child with special needs is an individual case. If you have a special child at home, go to a specialist now. Early intervention will give a better chance for your children to live a normal life,” he said.
There are still cases pending of children needing cochlear implants throughout Sarawak. Those interested in helping may contact the Association of Children with Special Needs Sibu at 084-217912.