Rwanda opens first audiology clinic

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Published on 07 June 2013

Rwanda Military Hospital has opened the first audiology clinic in the country. The clinic, which will diagnose, test, make and fit hearing aids for those with irreversible hearing impairments, will cater to the many patients with hearing impairments in the country. It is the third opened in Africa after Kenya and South Africa.

Dr Eugene Twagirumukiza, head of the hospital’s Ear, Nose and Throat department reports that it received 35 cases in its first few days of being opened. Twenty-seven patients received hearing aids. Major Dr Christophe Sayinzoga, an ear, nose and throat surgeon, said although there are no statistics documented, he receives many cases of hearing problems from different parts of the country. “For example, I have received over 60 people with hearing problems from only Huye and Kirehe in the past two months. This means the problem is big,” he said.

The clinic will have a staff of five Rwandan doctors who are trained to handle cases, and its hearing aid specialists will be able to fix hearing aids in just one day. The specialists expect to handle five to ten patients each day.

Source: The New Times