Korle Bu begins screening newborns for hearing problems.

 

Now, before being released from the labor ward, newborn babies delivered at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra will undergo a hearing impairment screening.

The screening will be carried out as part of the hospital's routine newborn care. There will be a charge associated with any extra interventions that are required, though.

Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, the chief executive officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, announced this yesterday in Accra at the beginning of a newborn hearing screening project the hospital is working on with Path Medical of Germany and Med El, a major Austrian supplier of hearing implant systems.

 Dr. Ampomah referred to the project as being extremely significant and stated that as a part of the project, they were looking at developing a teamwide approach involving midwives, obstetricians, and pediatricians so that each of those individuals who were the first to come into contact with any newborn child would be sensitive enough to provide the child with the initial screening on hearing impairment.

He stated that in order to boost their numbers and make themselves more accessible and available to patients, they were also considering deepening training as part of the project.

According to him, the hospital wants to reach a stage where neonatal screenings are done for all childhood anomalies as well as hearing impairment, so that instances can be identified early and treated to prevent conditions from getting worse.

He claimed that the project was being carried out not just in Korle Bu but also in collaboration with many of their sister health institutions so that it might eventually be implemented throughout the entire nation.

Early detection

Dr. Ampomah noted that a sizable percentage of infants were born with hearing impairments, and that if identified and treated early enough, these children may develop properly.

He claimed that if children with hearing impairments were not identified and treated as soon as possible after birth, they struggled throughout life and were even thought to be stupid by some because they were unable to understand what was being spoken to them.

According to Dr. Kenneth Baidoo, Head of the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Department at the Korle Bu Teaching institution, the institution had previously conducted spot checks for hearing impairment in neonates, particularly in those who were admitted to the NICU.

However, this research will be extensive, allowing parents of every baby born at the hospital to learn about their child's hearing by the time they arrived for their initial postnatal evaluation.

He explained that when children with hearing impairment received late diagnosis and treatment, their hearing quality would differ from that of children whose cases received early diagnosis and prompt treatment.

Impairment

He noted that genetic factors, infections contracted during pregnancy, extreme jaundice in babies, medications given to them when they have serious infections, and lack of oxygen after delivery are the main causes of hearing impairment in children.

According to Dr. Baidoo, depending on the severity of the kid's disability, hearing aides might be given to the child to improve their hearing, while cochlear implants were an option for children with severe hearing loss.

Peter Böttcher of Path Medical and Stephanie Unterrieder, MA, Business Development and Regional Manager for Africa of Med El, gave the program's health professionals the advice to let parents know that the hospital's screening program is available.

Korle Bu Teaching Hospital received four hearing screening tools and one hearing diagnostic tool as part of the collaboration.