These children were not born deaf. But different circumstances led to their loss of hearing. ADEWALE OSHODI writes on an initiative providing hearing aids for these children, thereby giving them a new lease of life.
BUKUNMI was three years old when he developed typhoid. His father, Mr Ayo Adeoye, said he was taken to the hospital and treated and after a while, he got well.
“However, one day, he (Bukunmi) just left my presence and I called him back, but he didn’t hear. I shouted his name and still he didn’t respond. So, I rushed to him and flogged him.
“It was later that my eldest son informed me that he had also noticed Bukunmi had not been hearing well.”
Mr Adeoye, a commercial motorcycle operator, said when the problem started, “we took him to the hospital and they recommended some tests.
“After the tests, we were told he would need to procure hearing aid, which is very costly and that was when I decided to enrol him at a school for the deaf and he started communicating using sign language.
“Just recently, a friend informed me that an organisation would be coming to Ibadan to test people with hearing problem and also give them hearing aids and that was how I found myself at HearMax’s programme,” Mr Adeoye said.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO), The HearMax Initiative, has been at the forefront of supporting people with hearing loss, especially children and recently, it organised a programme in Ibadan, Oyo State, where it examined people with hearing loss and also provided hearing aids.
Its Executive Director, Ibraheem Abiodun Salako, speaking at the programme, said, “The major aim of HearMax Initiative is to improve the lives of people, especially children, by helping them overcome hearing loss.
“The initiative was established in 2021 due to the increase in hearing loss globally and in Nigeria. Over 8.5 million people are suffering from hearing loss, with the majority of the people developing this challenge as a result of preventable causes.
“Therefore, our organisation is working to create awareness about hearing loss so as to prevent more people from suffering from the challenge. We are also assisting by providing hearing aids and this is what we are doing in Ibadan.”
Salako said the organisation, supported by Starkey Hearing Foundation and Inoaba Biotec, donated over 100 hearing aids to beneficiaries, with a pair originally costing over N300,000.
He, however, said going by the number of people suffering from hearing loss, it is important for government at all levels to partner with the organisation so that more people can benefit.
“We are donating over 100 hearing aids today, but people who are here for hearing aids are more than 300, so it means not everyone will benefit, but if the government can come in, then we can reach more people,” Salako said.
Also, the Managing Director of Inoaba Biotec, Mr Lukman Abiodun Aroworamimo, said the company decided to sponsor the free treatment and provision of hearing aids programme of HearMax Initiative as a way of giving back to the society.
“We are aware that hearing aids can be very costly and we just want to also help people by donating the devices so that beneficiaries can have better quality of life,” he said.
While also speaking, Mr Lukman Jokotade of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) commended HearMax Initiative for the gesture, saying it would go a long way in helping pupils attain their educational dreams.
“The truth is that if children cannot hear, then there is nothing they teach in class that they will understand.
“Also, I was made to understand that not all the children with hearing loss need to be taken to the school for the deaf; some just need hearing aids to project sounds and voices into their inner ears and they will be fine. So, I want to appreciate HearMax for the gesture which will definitely go a long way in making children with hearing loss achieve their full potential,” Jokotade said.
However, it is not just children who benefited from HearMax’s gesture, as Alhaji Lateef Quadri, also thanked them for coming to his rescue.
He said, “I used to have difficulty hearing from my right ear, but I just couldn’t raise the N285,000 for a hearing aid. However, when I heard about the programme, I quickly rushed here and I was lucky to be given a hearing aid.
“I am just so happy and can’t thank the organisation enough. This is what the government ought to be doing for us and I hope more people can realise the challenges being faced by people with hearing loss in the society, which will make the government to also come in to help.
“The non-governmental organisation has set the ball rolling and I hope the government, especially the Oyo State government can partner with them so that more people can benefit.”
Speaking further, Alhaji Quadri, a 62-year-old man, said he didn’t know a lot of people are suffering from hearing loss until he got to the programme organised by HearMax.
With the success of the Ibadan programme, Mr Salako said it is hoped that organisations, particularly the government, can also come in to partner with HearMax for the benefit of those having hearing challenges.
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