Department of Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) at Command Hospital (Southern Command) in Pune has conducted two piezoelectric Bone Conduction Hearing Implants (BCI) in a 7-year old male child suffering from congenital external and middle ear anomalies with severe degree of hearing loss and one adult with Single Sided Deafness (SSD), becoming the first government hospital across the country to procure and conduct the successful piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implants.

The ENT department of Command Hospital (Southern Command) is a designated Neurotology centre of the AFMS. The dept. has been providing Implantable hearing solutions to dependent clientele for a number of years. Active piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implant system is an implantable medical electronic device for hearing impaired patients [conductive loss (including aural atresia), mixed hearing loss and single sided deafness].The cost of the equipment has always been a concern, making its outreach limited.

There are certain group of patients with conductive/ mixed hearing loss or patients with single sided deafness, who are not candidates for cochlear implantation and do not benefit with hearing aids or middle ear surgery. To reduce the associated disability, it is imperative to provide hearing augmentation for better academic outcome in children and social life in adults. Bone conduction implantation is the definitive hearing solutions in such groups of patients to rehabilitate them, and the Armed Forces Medical Services were quick to realise this.

DG Armed Forces Medical Services Lt Gen Daljit Singh and DGMS (Army) Lt Gen Arindam Chatterjee have congratulated the Command Hospital (SC) and wished many more laurels to the institute.

These patients were implanted successfully at Command Hospital (SC), Pune by Lt Col (Dr) Rahul Kurkure, Neurotologist and Implant Surgeon under the guidance of Col (Dr) Nitu Singh, Senior Advisor & HoD (ENT). The Command Hospital (SC), Pune is one of the premier institute of AFMS, presently commanded by Maj Gen B Nambiar. The hospital was recently awarded with the most prestigious “Raksha Mantri” trophy as the best hospital in the entire AFMS.

ABB/Anand