The King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center (KAESC) has announced that the First Saudi Awareness Day for Hearing Problems and Cochlear Implants would be held in Riyadh on Nov. 30.

The initiative will take place in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.

“This historical day will change the lives of many of our handicapped youth. We aim to help them become more active in society and live a life free of hearing problems,” said Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah Hajar, director of the KAESC and general supervisor of the Prince Sultan Research Chair for Hearing Disability and Implants.

The center, managed by King Saud University, has announced Nov. 30 as an annual public day to raise awareness on hearing problems and cochlear implants.

“The goals of this awareness day include highlighting hearing problems and diseases in the Kingdom, easing the lives of the hearing-impaired and urging such individuals to benefit from the services and facilities made available by the KAESC,” he explained.

He stressed the importance of changing social and family culture on dealing with hearing problems and emphasized that early detection of hearing diseases and problems in newborns would reduce problems in the long-run.

Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailem, former deputy minister of Health and Shoura Council member, outlined the increasing incidences of hearing problems and deafness in the Kingdom despite the presence of trained physicians, highly qualified practitioners and well-equipped centers.

Dr. Abdul Monem Hassan Al Shaikh, head of the Cochlear Implants program at Fahd General Hospital and the first Saudi doctor to conduct surgery in this field in Saudi Arabia in 1993, spoke about the adoption of a cochlear implant program in Saudi Arabia.

KAESC was established in 2012 by royal decree.

The idea was conceived following the success of a research chair for treating hearing problems in 2008.

Advanced scientific research contributed to the treatment of hearing problems, leading to the establishment of the Prince Sultan Research Chair for Hearing Disability in 2010.

The KAESC was established as the first specialized ear surgery center in the Middle East. It is now a world leader in electronic cochlear implants.