22 children receive cochlear implants under Hearing Without Borders initiative

AMMAN — Doctors have performed cochlear implant surgeries on 22 children with hearing difficulties at Al Hussein Medical Centre under the Hearing Without Borders initiative, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported Tuesday.

The surgeries were part of the second phase of the initiative, launched by HRH Crown Prince Hussein in late 2014 in a bid to make Jordan free of hearing disabilities and help deaf children in the country, according to Petra.

The implant surgeries were performed on children aged between 11 months and 10 years, according to members of medical team, who noted that all the operations were successful. 

The patients will now undergo rehabilitation programmes to gradually retain their hearing, according to Petra.

The children will continue their treatment at Royal Medical Services hospitals, the King Abdullah I University Hospital and Prince Hamzah Hospital.

These medical facilities have so far treated 30 children under the initiative, according to Petra.

Approximately 172,000 babies are born in Jordan every year. Two children in every 1,000 births have congenital hearing defects, the initiative’s director, Sakher Fayez, told The Jordan Times in previous remarks.

Currently, there are approximately 19,000 deaf Jordanians, he said.

Most of those who suffer from hearing disabilities cannot fully communicate and interact with the community although they have learned sign language, he added.

The cost of education and rehabilitation per person is JD6,000 per year, while the cost of one cochlear implant and the subsequent rehabilitation process is JD16,000 and will allow the child to fully communicate with the community, according to Fayez. 

The Hearing Without Borders initiative seeks to provide all support and assistance for the rehabilitation of deaf children who receive cochlear implants; to provide the needed language therapy and training for these children after their surgery; and to create community awareness on the causes of deafness.

The plan also aims to establish rehabilitation centres in all areas of the Kingdom for children who receive cochlear implants to enhance their speech and pronunciation.