Bengaluru, Nov 6 (IANS): A six-year-old Yemeni national suffering from hearing impairment successfully underwent a Cochlear implant at a hospital here.

Adel Ibrahim suffered from a viral infection when he was nine-month-old, due to which he lost his ability to hear.

Unable to fathom what was wrong with Ibrahim, his parents visited several hospitals and clinics in Yemen trying to look for treatment for almost five years but could not get proper treatment in the war-torn nation.

On advice of the Yemeni medical experts, Ibrahim's parents visited Columbia Asia Hospital at Bengaluru.

However, they were worried as in most cases Cochlear implantation -- implanting in the inner ear a device that can help to provide a sense of sound for a hearing impaired person -- is done on children born with hearing and speech impairment while Ibrahim was not born with hearing impairment.

Ibrahim underwent the implant Oct 31 performed by a group of doctors led by Santosh, a senior ENT surgeon at Columbia Asia Hospital.

"After the viral fever, Ibrahim stopped responding to any kind of sounds. His parents consulted many doctors and finally realized that their son had a hearing impairment. A Cochlear implant will now cure the disorder in Ibrahim," said Santosh.