My friend in Laos has a young 7 yo son who is profoundly deaf. He is interested in a cochlear implant, or at least a determination if that might help his son. Since he is poor he would need assistance for this. Any suggestions to help him would be appreciated. Thanks

Suggest you do a Google for: Cochlear Implant Thailand

Lots of hits there, including hospitals, doctors, and a link to a support group here:

http://www.cochlear.com/sea/community/support-groups

Mac

Thanks Mac, I did google but missed this.

The first thing you need to do is go to a top Ear Nose & Throat specialist so that the young lad can be thoroughly tested to find the actual cause of the deafness and whether anything can be done for him.. Not everyone is suitable for a cochlea implant.

I worked for many years in audiology but have been out of it now for some time but I am in no doubt that great strides in this field has been made since then.

Was the young lad born deaf? Or was it an illness that caused him to lose his hearing?

Can he speak?

Are there other members of the with hearing problems?

Is he profoundly Hard Of Hearing or totally deaf. There is a difference,

Has he had thorough testing in the past?

If you answer the above then maybe I can give further advice.

Hope something can be done for the boy as deafness is one of the worst things to contend with.