People from rural areas are at risk of hearing loss

Nanyuki

Monday, August 21, 2023

KNA by Muturi Mwangi

About 40 patients received free Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgeries at the Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital courtesy of the Ear Drop Operation Project, an organization aimed at restoring hearing.

This comes as the cost of treating ENT ailments remain a challenge among the majority of Kenyans and especially from rural areas.

Over the weekend, KNA had a chance to interact with Joseph Mburu after undergoing several hours of intensive ENT surgery at the Nanyuki hospital facility where he reveals that his hearing ailment started a year ago with one ear which had oozing puss before shifting to the next ear hence hampering his hearing ability completely.

“One of my ears had a hole inside and I was in and out of the hospital to get cured. Now it has been treated and feels better. I hope it improves and be able to live a normal life,” notes Mburu.

He says that he hoped his ailment would cease after getting drugs over the counter but the situation kept on worsening.

He said before he got the rare chance to be treated after a year of agony, the situation had drained him financially despite having no steady income.

Kennedy Ndegwa, also a free ear surgery patient and who hails from Nyahururu, revealed that his hearing loss started at a tender age.

“I have undergone the treatment and I am okay now. I am happy since this was a rare opportunity and God sent. I will be able to hear again after a very long time,” joyful Ndegwa said.

He noted that the free ENT surgery conducted on him was a life saver and he was hopeful to regain the hearing ability just like his friends whom he had witnessed undergo the operation.

Catherine Wambui from Subukia said she was referred from Nakuru County to seek medical treatment at the Nanyuki hospital which was a clear indication how the county hospital had improved on health service delivery.

She revealed that hearing loss had been a big blow to her since childhood and with the operation, she was hopeful to live a happy life.

According to Nanyuki Hospital CEO Dr. Sammy Kilonzo, a patient has to part with about Sh250, 000 to get hearing loss treatment and price might go high depending on how complicated the operation is.

He says that hearing loss complications were rampant in rural areas and partnering with other hospitals was a relief to the patients since the hospital got equipment to help them to conduct the free surgeries.

“The issue of hearing problems is rampant in rural areas and by partnering with other hospitals, we are able to help them undergo treatment. For instance, we are able to get advanced surgery equipment through partnerships,” reveals Dr. Kilonzo.

A Nanyuki-based ENT surgeon Dr. David Njoroge says that common hearing problems were due to infection, tumors, injuries and complete deafness.

“ENT diseases can be contributed by many factors including tonsillitis, cold flu, infections, injuries and tumors. The only way to prevent, we urge patients to seek medical attention immediately if they experience any ENT problem to ensure the situation doesn't worsen,” urges Dr. Njoroge.

He notes that with hearing loss problems, they sought support from Operation Ear Drop Project to conduct the free ear surgeries medical camp at the Nanyuki hospital.

“We are happy to help patients with hearing problems, and this is not the first time we are conducting this exercise, we started in 2010. So far, we have conducted about 250 ear surgeries for patients from various parts of the country,” notes Dr. Njoroge.

He said the free surgeries were a relief to Mount Kenya region residents since the area lacked expertise and equipment to do advanced medical surgeries.

“We rely on equipment from Kenyatta National Hospital and Operations Ear Drop Project to conduct our surgeries because we can’t get them here. We appeal for more support aimed at helping many patients who require our free medical services,” says the ENT surgeon.

According to the 2022 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) health demographic survey about 3.5 and 4.5 percent of both male and female respectively experience hearing loss

Further, World Health Organization (WHO) hearing loss statistics of 2022 reveals that about 5 percent of the world population or 430 million people need rehabilitation to address their disabling hearing loss and over 80 percent comes from low and middle income countries.