February 19, 2009

Iraqi Boy Hears First Sounds After Cochlear Implant Surgery

After nearly two years of silence, a 3-year-old Iraqi boy reentered the world of sound on Tuesday when the cochlear implant he’d received at UCSF was activated. Mustafa Ghazwan, who had lost his hearing in June 2007 during a US missile attack in his home city of Baquba, Iraq, underwent cochlear implant surgery at UCSF Medical Center on Jan. 16, but doctors had to wait for the swelling to subside before turning on the device. A cochlear implant converts sound into an electric impulse to stimulate the auditory nerve. It consists of an external portion that sits like a hearing aid behind the ear, and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin. After the implant was activated Tuesday morning, UCSF cochlear implant audiologist Colleen Polite, AuD, performed various tests of Mustafa’s hearing, such as speaking to him in a loud voice and shaking a clacker. Each time a sound was produced, the boy turned his body or reached out toward its source, Polite said – an indication the implant was doing its job. “It went without a glitch,” Polite said at a press conference later that morning. “It was almost as though [Mustafa] had a script that he was reading from.”

Mustafa even seemed to have a sense of the connection between his implant and his newly restored hearing, as he repeatedly lifted the exterior transmitter away from his ear and then replaced it, Polite said. “Today was another turning point,” she said. “It’s a work in progress as he develops and attaches interpretation and meaning to the sensations he’s receiving [from the implant].” This latest, successful step in Mustafa’s treatment came as a huge relief to his father, Ghazwan Al-Nadawi, who said he had not slept at all the night before. Asked about his feelings toward the United States – the country responsible for his son’s injury – Al-Nadawi said any anger or bitterness has been replaced by gratitude for the kindness he has received since arriving with Mustafa in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve. “It’s absolutely different now, knowing the American people,” he said, speaking through an interpreter. “They love peace and they love good things for other people.” Mustafa’s hospital fees and subsequent hearing and speech therapy will be paid in full by various nonprofits and church groups, including No More Victims, the Los Angeles-based organization that first made contact with the family in Iraq. The group, founded by Cole Miller, obtains medical sponsorships for Iraqi children injured in the war. The Ruth Group, a coalition of peace activists in Marin County, and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tiburon also raised thousands of dollars to pay for Mustafa’s travel and medical expenses. In addition, UCSF ear disorder specialist Lawrence Lustig, MD, and the rest of his team donated their medical services to perform the surgery. Miller, a seemingly constant presence alongside the Iraqi father and son, said he thinks the generosity and teamwork behind Mustafa’s journey represent “a model that could be adopted by communities all over the country.” For now, however, the focus is simply on making sure Mustafa is as healthy and happy as every young child deserves to be. His treatment at UCSF will continue for about five more months before he is able to return to Iraq. Al-Nadawi said he was eager for Mustafa to hear the voices of his mother, brother and other loved ones waiting for him back home. But there is one thing, he said, that he hopes his son will never hear again – the sound of a bomb blast.

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