Ahmedabad: As a baby, Ayush Das wouldn’t respond to the sound of a rattle. A doctor gave his worried parents the grim news: their son’s inner ear had not developed fully, rendering him hearing impaired. At the age of 6 months and 18 months, Ayush got cochlear implants which introduced him to the world of sounds. It’s been 17 years since. Ayush is now a first-year BTech in mechanical engineering student at IIT Gandhinagar (IIT-Gn).Recently, at speech and hearing clinic in the city, Ayush’s success was celebrated in the presence of friends and family as an example of perseverance and hard work. “The majority of what I know of my journey has come from my parents. But ever since I started understanding things, I have ensured that the implants do not become my identity. Classmates and onlookers are curious about the devices, and I try explaining to them in the best way possible,” he says.The implant has two parts – the processor that sits behind the ear and the stimulator which is inside the ear. Dr Rajesh Vishwakarma, the ENT surgeon in Ahmedabad who implanted the device for Ayush, said the implants are only the beginning.“Ayush’s gift of hearing helped him be a part of schooling and coaching, and he eventually earned a place at IIT. His parents Vishal and Mili – both bankers – have devoted time and resources to make his dream come true. Mili especially attended numerous sessions and workshops to understand how to ensure stimuli for Ayush besides speech and hearing coordination. Most importantly, she gave him a normal life,” says Dr Vishwakarma.With marks that put him in 98.04 percentile in IIT JEE Advance, Ayush was among the top 100 in the persons with disabilities category. “The foundation programme is currently on at IIT-Gn and I am enjoying it immensely with highly supportive fellow students and faculty members. I want to complete BTech to the best of my capacity and gain industry experience before aiming for top IIMs,” says Ayush of his future goals.IIT-Gn officials said that it is the third consecutive year that a BTech/MTech seat has been offered to a student with speech and hearing impairment.At other premier educational institutes in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, the share of students with speech and hearing impairment has remained relatively low compared to other disabilities like blindness and locomotor disabilities, according to details available. NGOs in the city working with speech and hearing impaired students said that these students need an inclusive environment and encouragement in form of role models to be a part of the mainstream.Dr Vishwakarma says that early-stage screening is important and helps identify and address deafness “Ayush is not only excelling at studies, but is also playing sports including football, cricket and table tennis. While awareness played a major role for his parents, the screening programme for children in the state has helped providing hearing aids or corrective surgeries. Even today we have to explain to examiners that the device worn by the child is not an earphone to copy. It is to help them process the sounds around them,” he adds.
