15 cochlear implant surgeries performed under Crown Prince initiative

AMMAN — A specialised medical team at the Prince Hamzah Hospital has recently performed 15 cochlear implant surgeries as part of HRH Crown Prince Hussein's “Hearing Without Borders” initiative, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday. 

The head of the medical team, Abdul Sattar Wreikat, told Petra that the surgeries were conducted on patients who suffered from severe hearing difficulties, along with four who had central and internal ear distortions.

Wreikat, who is also the director of the ENT department at the hospital, said that the surgeries were conducted during a two-day workshop on cochlear implants, with the participation of a Russian professor and other Jordanian specialists.

Hospital Director Mazen Naghway said that the facility has over the past five years conducted 170 similar surgeries, as part of Prince Hussein's initiative and with support from the Royal Court.

Launching the initiative in December, 2014, Crown Prince Hussein noted that some 300 children in Jordan are born with hearing disabilities every year and they need help to be able to hear and speak. 

He added that the chance for these children to hear and speak normally is great if there is adequate medical intervention before they are six years old.

According to the Crown Prince’s website, the vision behind the project is to “have a Jordan free from hearing disabilities, and the mission is to provide all support and assistance for the rehabilitation of deaf children who receive cochlear implants, to provide the needed language therapy and training for these children and to create community awareness on the cause of deafness”.