States » SouthPosted at: Oct 13 2026 6:56PM


For the first time in India, Global Hearing Health International conference held at SRIHER

Chennai, Oct 13 (UNI) The Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) organised the 16th International Conference of the Coalition for Global Hearing Health (CGHH), marking the first time the event was held in India.
Nearly 250 delegates from 27 countries across Asia, Africa and the USA participated in the three-day conference, that brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss global challenges and advances in hearing healthcare.
The Coalition of Global Hearing Health is an international network of clinicians, researchers, advocates and persons with hearing loss working to make hearing health a global priority with a greater focus on low-middle income countries, a SRIHER release said today.
Inaugurating the three-day conference, Dr. Darez Ahamed, Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, said "today, more than 430 million people need rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss, and nearly 60% of childhood hearing loss is preventable. For a young adult, the risk may come from earphones. For workers in our factories and on construction sites, prolonged exposure to noise year after year can lead to hearing loss."
Under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, the Government has funded cochlear implants for young children whose families could never have afforded them otherwise, he said, adding, "We have provided this intervention to more than 4,000 children, helping nearly 500 children every year. Our insurance scheme has also been covering hearing aids for more than a decade. Village health workers can screen children for hearing problems, while audiologists can test a baby’s hearing remotely through a village health van equipped with satellite connectivity".
He also invited industries and researchers present here to join us in working towards these solutions and making hearing healthcare more accessible to all.”
Dr. Shelly Chadha, Technical Lead for Ear and Hearing Care at the World Health Organization (WHO), said the Indian Government has been a pioneer in establishing the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness (NPPCD). Its approach to integrate ear and hearing care at the primary healthcare level is particularly distinctive.
The Tamil Nadu Government has also been at the forefront of implementing the national programme and establishing innovative models of public-private partnership. Nearly 60% of ear and hearing-related problems can be addressed at the community level by trained non-specialists, leaving only 40% to require specialist care. The key is to ensure that these services actually become available at the community level, making ear and hearing care more accessible to everyone.”
UNI GV
Tags: #For the first time in India# Global Hearing Health International conference held at SRIHER
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