IN line with this week’s National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week, audiologist Sofanias Plazo Jr. and Dr. Roman Cruz announced the availability of cochlear implants in Cebu.
A person who suffers from severe to profound hearing loss usually has a damaged cochlea, where most of the sensory cells do not function properly and are unable to send nerve signals to the brain.
A cochlear implant is a medical device that is the second line of treatment for those who cannot be rehabilitated with hearing aid. The device functions by digitally converting environmental sounds into coded electrical signals.
By mimicking the natural function of sensory cells, it delivers sound signals directly to the auditory nerve then transmits them to the brain where it can be interpreted as sound.
Clinical audiologist Sofonias Plazo Jr. works with Med-El, which cooperates with doctors to evaluate, diagnose, manage and treat hearing and balance problems.
Plazo said cochlear implantation in the Philippines started twenty years ago. “Since 1997, the surgery was only available in Manila. Patients outside of Manila have to fly to Manila, stay at the hotel, have it operated on, then go back for follow up treatments and check ups,” Plazo said.
Plazo also said implants have been available in Cebu since 2009. Scheduling would take time because the surgeon would have to fly in from Manila, perform the surgery, and fly back. A local doctor would then do the post-operative care.
“This is the first time we have a local (Cebu-based) doctor who can perform the surgery. He performed two surgeries in June at Chong Hua Mandaue. It’s the newer hospital so we wanted to see the set-up of the operating room - the equipment was complete,” Mentioned Plazo.
Dr. Roman Cruz, an ENT doctor who also does ear surgeries, is the first ENT in Cebu who can perform cochlear implantation.
“It is a developing process. The training started the day I went with doctor Martinez, the cochlear implant surgeon from Manila, in performing the surgery. He flew in and we both operate. I assisted him and while assisting him, I learned. He constantly gave me the step-by step process. We worked together with every patient since 2009,” Said Dr. Cruz, who started performing operations alone this year.
Not all of those suffering from hearing loss are advised to undergo the surgery. Many candidates still undergo screening, testing and interviews prior to operation. Patients who suffer from severe to profound hearing loss are the usual candidates for the surgery.
“Our oldest patient operated in Manila is 78, and 48 in Cebu,” Said Plazo, who also mentioned that most patients were children.
There is a big difference between hearing aid and hearing implants. Hearing aid devices have to be changed every three to five years and only amplifies the sound which is sometimes ineffective for those with severe hearing loss cases.
Hearing implants last a lifetime and function through brain stimulations.
A total of 650 patients have undergone cochlear implant surgery in the Philippines. Between 1997 to 2008, 20 patients were flown in to Manila for cochlear implant surgery. From 2009 to present, a total of 36 patients were operated in Cebu, so far.
“Eight percent of the general population is affected by hearing disability. Second to movement disability. This is relatively high in the Philippines,” said Plazo.
“Most of the time, hearing is taken for granted. But it is as important as sight,” said Cruz. “Nothing can beat natural hearing, but what we can offer is second best.”