Speech & Hearing Clinic
About Us !
Welcome to the “Speech and Hearing Clinic” at VIMHANS HOSPITAL, No.1, Institutional Area, Nehru Nagar, New Delhi-110065. This is a new entity of VIMHANS HOSPITAL and is intended to serve people with Speech-Language & Hearing difficulties.
All sorts of diagnostic and therapeutic services are available here for the individuals with speech & hearing problems of all age groups. The Prime focus of this clinic is to facilitate improved quality of life through more natural communication skills. This clinic also emphasizes the importance of early identification and rehabilitation of disorders, which further leads to a better treatment outcome. Therefore, the new “Speech & Hearing Clinic” at VIMHANS Hospital, is a complete breakthrough to all kinds of Speech-language and Hearing disorders.
Did you know ?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Hearing Loss is one of the leading health concerns around the world (WHO, 2005). Hearing Impairment that is bilateral in nature results in significant delay in speech and language development and academic achievement for both children with mild and moderate hearing loss as well as for those whose losses are in severe and profound ranges.
Hearing loss that goes undetected in infants and young children compromises optimal development and personal achievement. Because language and communication serve as the foundation for normal child development, delays in acquisition of these skills affect literacy (reading and writing), academic achievement, and social and personal development (Diefendorf, 2002).
The world-wide incidence of profound hearing loss is estimated to be approximately 1 in 1000 live births, and extrapolating the world wide incidence to our 1 billion population, compounded by the large prevalence of consanguineous marriages, prevalence of deafness in our country is likely to be of significant public health concern. It has been evaluated that in India the incidence of hearing impairment is approximately 3 to 4 per 1000 births.
In developed countries like United States of America, Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) is mandatory. Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH, 1994) has also recommended that, all infants with hearing loss should be identified by 3 months of age, and receives intervention by 6 months of age. But currently there are no mandatory rules or regulations for Newborn Hearing Screening in India and hence the identification of hearing loss is mostly at later ages.
In India the identification of hearing loss is as late as 5 years of age, which almost crosses the crucial age for amplification and intervention (Bansal, Berry & Deka, 2003). Therefore, early identification is important to have better treatment outcome in cases where Impairment like Hearing loss is always a “Hidden Demon” for infants and young children.
Providing Hearing Aids to the children with hearing impairment by 6 months of age results into better expressive language development than those who receives amplification after 6 months of age.
However fitting a Hearing Aid is only the First step in the process of rehabilitation, which should always, followed by comprehensive Speech & Language Therapy or Aural Rehabilitation depending upon the Age of an individual.
QUICK SELF EVALUATION !
1. Do you experience ringing or noises in your ears? Yes/No
2. Do you hear better with one ear than the other? Yes/No
3. Have any of your relatives had a hearing loss? Yes/No
4. Have you had significant noise exposure in your life time? Yes/No
5. Do you find it difficult to follow a conversation in a noisy restaurant or crowded room? Yes/No
6. Do you some times feel people are mumbling or not speaking clear? Yes/No
7. Do you experience difficulty following the dialogue in movies or at the theater? Yes/No
8. Do you sometimes find it difficult to understand the speaker at a meeting or religious service? Yes/No
9. Are you having trouble keeping up at work because you often miss key pieces of information? Yes/No
10. Do you find yourself asking people to speak up or repeat themselves often? Yes/No
11. Do you find men’s voice easier to understand than women’s? Yes/No
12. Do you experience difficulty understanding soft or whispered speech? Yes/No
13. Do you sometimes have a trouble understanding when on the telephone? Yes/No
14. Does hearing problem cause you to feel uncomfortable when meeting new people? Yes/No
15. Do you feel your hearing prevents you from fully experiencing your life? Yes/No
16. Could your safety or the safety of your loved one’s be compromised by your hearing? Yes/No
17. Does a hearing problem cause you to visit friends relatives, or neighbours less often than you used to? Yes/No
18. Do you participate in fewer family functions than have in past? Yes/No
19. Are you feeling isolated because you are missing out on everyday conversations? Yes/No
A YES to any 1 or 2 of these questions could indicate you have a hearing problem.
YES TO MORE THAN 3 OF THESE QUESTIONS means a professional screening is necessary.
Services Provided At Speech & Hearing Clinic:
Ø Diagnosis & Speech-language therapy for all sorts of Communication disorders across all ages.
Ø Hearing Evaluations/testing.
Ø Dispensing most technologically advanced Hearing aids.
Ø Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT).
Ø Counseling & Hearing aid orientation.
“Break through The Silence”
Visit…….
“Speech & Hearing Clinic”
At
VIMHANS Hospital....
For Further Details Contact:
Consultant: Mrs. Sayantanee Ghosh Saikia (MASLP)
Audiologist & Speech-Language Pathologist
Office: +91 (0)11 29849010-9020 (Extn. 564)
Fax: +91 (0)11 29849028
Mobile: +91 9999465103