Seven-year-old Sumaira was a normal child at the time of her birth. After couple of years of her birth, she started developing some hearing problems, which resulted in permanent loss of hearing. Hearing loss is a combination of loss of volume (measured in decibels) and loss of pitch, or frequency (measured in Hertz). Her father, Abdul Wahid resident of the village Jogain, District Peshawar, was a labourer and his poor financial conditions hindered him taking his daughter to the doctor.
However, he managed some financial resources and took his daughter to the ENT specialist, who advised installation of hearing aid in the ears of Sumaira. As the cost of the hearing aid was beyond the reach of Abdul Wahid, he became worried about how his daughter would be able to get the hearing aid. The persons with disabilities, especially the disabled girls, face stigma and other social issues in the society. The girls’ disability sometimes becomes the main obstacle in their wedding.
Meanwhile, Abdul Wahid came to know about the fact that CHEF International was offering medical services to the disabled persons to make the productive citizens. He contacted the CHEF International’s authorities concerned and was advised to bring his daughter for medical examination. Abdul Wahid took his daughter to the CHEF International’s health facility where the doctors fixed the hearing aid in the ear of Sumaira.
It was something more than special joy when Sumaira listened and talked to her father, mother and siblings. “I am over the moon. I cannot explain my joy in simple words. Me and my family are very thankful to the CHEF International for providing me the hearing aid,” Sumaira said, adding that now onwards she would be able to go to the school and get education.
Perhaps the most important thing to know is that hearing ability helps a child develop his/her speech and language skills. It’s critical to make sure that the child’s hearing loss is treated appropriately to reduce the impact that hearing loss has on his/her education.
There are many different estimates depending on the organization gathering the data, but overall hearing loss is fairly common in kids. One national survey estimated that about 15 per cent of kids have hearing loss, though in most cases the hearing loss was slight, and in only one ear in Pakistan.
