On Wednesday March 15th, a new ultramodern ear-testing and treatment machine was installed at St Philip Health Centre III at Michan Village, Bardege-Layibi Division in Gulu city.
This machine which cost approximately Ugx110 million offers services such as ear check-ups, hearing tests, hearing aids programming and fitting, hearing aid repair and maintenance, as well as audio-speech therapy for people with cochlear implants.
The health centre received the equipment with support from FAST (Faith, Audiology & Speech Therapy), a non-profit organisation.
According to Dr Isaac Ojok, an audiologist at the health Centre, individuals with hearing problems, organisations and bodies that work with children and other institutions to prioritise ear check-ups and testing.
“The centre has acquired ultramodern ear testing equipment which is among some of the best in the industry. Now that the centre is fully-equipped, we will be able to identify, diagnose and rehabilitate hearing problems,” Ojok said.
Ojok said that hearing defects are a significant problem in the Acholi Sub-region and yet remain untackled.
However according to Ojok, a sample of students was taken from two schools in Gulu City and they discovered that about 55 had defects in their ears that required treatment and corrections, and this number would set you wondering the situation among adults.
“The machine is the only operating ear-treatment equipment in the sub-region and it is important that we have equipment that can provide a wide range of ear treatment services to the population,” he added.
In a March 2021 report by World Health Organisation, nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide or 1 in 4 people will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050.
