Mysuru, Oct. 27 – Hearing aids were distributed to 150 hearing impaired children of Mysuru at a programme organised by All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) at its premises on Bogadi Road in the city on Sunday, in collaboration with Mysuru District Deaf Association and Lions International (District 317-G) Nisarga & Mayuri, under CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative of Canfin Homes Limited.

Speaking on the occasion, AIISH Director Dr. M. Pushpavathi said that as many as 73,000 people visited AIISH this year, most of them with complaints of hearing impairment.

Pointing out that AIISH has identified 12 categories of disability, she said that the Institute, apart from curing these ailments, has been providing rehabilitation to people with disabilities.

Expressing concern over rising cases of speech and hearing impairment among children, she said that hearing aids have come to the help of such children and modern methods of speech therapy has been a boon to speech impaired children. The beneficiaries must use the hearing aids properly and with more care, Dr. Pushpavathi said adding that the programme was organised under the theme ‘Hear with confidence with a hearing aid.’

Canfin Homes Limited CEO Suresh S. Iyer, in his address, said that any physical handicap cannot be said as disability. Over and above this, one must realise that such persons have speciality of a different kind which needs to be discovered. This apart, every special child has a special talent and such children have a bright future, he maintained.

Canfin Homes Limited President Prakash Shanbhog, Deputy General Manager Prashant Joshi, Bengaluru Canara Bank retired Assistant General Manager K.N. Shamarao, Lions Club District Governor K.L. Rajashekar, Mysuru District Deaf Association President S. Murthy, Vice-President Mahesh Varma, Lions Club Mysore President Kumar, Sumitra Murthy, Jayakumar, Srinivas and others were present on the occasion.