Lagos – Dr Irene Okeke-Igbokwe, Chairperson/Interim President of the Nigerian Audiology Association on Friday appealed to the National Health Insurance scheme to include audiological services in its schedule.
Okeke-Igbokwe made the call in an address at the First Audiology Health Conference/Exhibition, organised by the association in Lagos.
The theme of the conference is: “Making Hearing Health a Global Priority, Audiology in Nigeria-Challenges and Prospects’’.
She said that the World Health Organisation noted that there were 360 million people in the world with disabling hearing loss.
This, she said, represented 5.3 per cent of the world’s population and 32 million of them were children.
She said that millions of Nigerians suffered hearing loss, following the ongoing insurgency in the North East.
“Our mission as qualified audiologists is to use this association as a platform and launching pad of the practice of audiology in Nigeria.
“Hearing loss is preventable through public health actions that include immunisation, healthy ear and hearing care habits and effective treatment for both acute and chronic ear conditions.
“The creation of audiology courses in schools across the country will go a long way in boosting research in the field and also benefit patients who need such services.
“The association will value diversity and treat all patients fairly and equally, without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, creed, religion, disability, sex and sexual orientation.
“The association is to vigorously pursue the establishment of facilities in some of our higher institutions to increase the professionalisation and qualified development of audiology practitioners.
“Some of the challenges audiologist are facing are poor consumer awareness of audiology, hearing aid dispensing competition from big-box companies, proliferation of quacks and insufficient number of audiologists.
“Deliberate efforts have been made in recent past to facilitate the establishment of audiology departments in selected universities across the country.
She added that in spite of efforts to reach out to the authorities, nothing much had been achieved.
“Several letters have been written to the National Universities Commission and key stakeholders in the citadel of learning but these letters have not seen the light of day.
“We also seek the support of the three tiers of government to assist in setting up a scholarship fund to facilitate the training of at least one audiologist from each state every year,” Okeke-Igbokwe said.
The keynote speaker, retired Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi , a former Chief of Army Staff, said that government never thought of establishing audiology centre in the country.
He said that some military personnel affected by audiology were sent abroad for treatment while some were unable to travel due to financial constraints.
“In October 1988, Nigeria Army Audiological Centre Yaba was established but there was a challenge due to lack of awareness by soldiers.
“Some soldiers out of ignorance thought the centre was set up to evaluate and possibly discharge those who failed the audiology tests.
“Due to a spike in demand of the centre’s services, I directed that the centres should be opened to the public to include civilians who had hearing problems.
“The citadels of learning must take interest in the area of training and manpower development to ensure we have clinical and academic audiologists to man the centres and universities.
He urged the Federal Government to realise the implications of the insurgency and work out elaborate plans to provide audiological services to states affected by the insurgency.
