NEW DELHI: Retired Australian cricketerer Brett Lee announced his campaign to raise awareness about Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) across India on his Twitter handle in association with implantable hearing aid company Cochlear.
Lee, who was named Cochlear’s global ambassador, reportedly has travelled to Delhi and Amritsar so far for the same. The fast bowler revealed that the cause appealed to him tremendously due to his son, Preston having suffered from a hearing loss in his right ear at a tender age of 5. According to a report in The Indian Express, he also requested the Indian government to make hearing screening for new-born babies compulsory in all hospitals and clinics.
“I am super proud to be here today, I have always said that when you speak about doctors it’s like cricket thing, the doctors might be the captains, the physicians might be the fast bowlers, the speech therapist might be the all-rounders. We are all doing a job to try to benefit these children. Well done to the hospital, they have done the hard work. We have seen so many Cochlear implants,” Lee said Wednesday at an event at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
“I want to use this platform to draw attention to the growing incidence of profound hearing loss, because I strongly believe that everybody deserves to hear the sounds of life.
“No one in this world deserves to live in silence. People should know that hearing loss is treatable and that it should not prevent a person from leading an active, full life. Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) can help address these issues early in life.”
Lee also made an appearance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, performing ‘karseva’ by distributing ‘langar’ to devotees. Sporting a turban and traditional attire, he also entertained people with his Hindi and Punjabi language skills, as a part of the initiative.
