Serving the hearing-impaired

To mark the birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Dec 5, the Foundation for the Deaf under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit in collaboration with Rajavithi Hospital under the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Medical Services is holding a charity project to help hearing-impaired children. The project — named Noo Yak Dai Yin Siang Mae (I Want To Hear My Mother’s Voice) — aims to provide corrective surgery for impoverished children with hearing difficulties. According to the project organiser, Noo Yak Dai Yin Siang Mae is designed for parents of hearing-impaired children to gain access to proper care and treatment. Children who are selected to participate in the campaign will be given free cochlear-implant surgery. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device for when hearing aids do not provide the clarity of sound to understand speech and spoken language. The technology is recognised as a standard means of helping the hearing-impaired. Those eligible for the charity must be younger than three years old, and their parents must be interviewed by a committee. Five cases will be selected per year. After the surgery, parents will be educated as to how to use and adjust the cochlear implant. The children who receive the operation are expected to live normal lives so that the stigma of being people with disabilities will be erased from their lives once and for all. The Foundation for the Deaf under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit has provided cochlear-implant surgeries to 75 children since 2004. As part of the charity project, the Noo Yak Dai Yin Siang Mae event will be held on Saturday from 8am-2pm at Phya Thai Conference Room, 11th floor of the Chalermprakiat Building, Rajavithi Hospital on Phaya Thai Road. At the event, children who’ve had the surgery provided by the foundation, as well as their parents, will share their experiences and provide other useful information on how to deal with hearing impairment. Participants also will have a chance to speak to the first person to undergo the surgery, in 2004, now a student in university.