By Olasunkanmi Akoni
Experts have lamented inadequate expertise in ear care, saying the country has very few Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) specialists serving more than one million Nigerians against the World Health Organisation, WHO, prescription of one ENT to 160 patients.
President of Otorhinolaryngological Society of Nigeria, ORLSON, Dr. Biodun Olusesi, CEO BSA Hearing and Speech Centre, Dr Simeon Afolabi, and Australian Ambassador to Nigeria, John Donnelly said the government through health reform programmes should consider ways to improve the sector.
They spoke at a programme to give an update of Cochlear in Nigeria and product pre-launch in Lagos.
Olusesi, who is the Head of Department, ENT, at the National Hospital, Abuja, disclosed that five out of 100 children born in Nigeria have significant hearing impairment.
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He said the cost of cochlear implantation can be reduced if the government decides to waive customs duty on importation of the medical device or gives subsidy on the treatment as done in some countries like South Africa.
He said: “For the past 15 years in my clinic, out of every 10 hearing impaired children presented, three would have causes that can be treated using just hearing aid.
“Then another three, these are the ones that have discharging ears. They have an improvement when you do surgery for them.
Then the remaining 10 are the ones that have a very severe type of hearing impairment that cannot be helped by hearing aid.
They are the ones that can be helped by cochlear implantation.
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