Two people with hearing problems should not get married

Accra, Oct. 4, GNA -- An Ear, Nose and Throat (E.N.T) Surgeon Consultant on Tuesday advised that two people with hearing problems should not get married.

He said hearing problems such as sensor neural hearing loss was hereditary and 'there is the likelihood that their hearing problems would be passed on to their children'.

Dr Emmanuel Kitcher of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, gave the advice at the Ghana Health Service's Monthly Health Promotion forum, which was on the theme:, 'Hearing Problems'.

He noted that hearing problems could lead to disability that would affect speech and undermine the education of their children and urged intending couples to go through medical examination to ascertain their hearing status before making any decision towards marriage.

Dr Kitcher said conductive hearing loss, which is caused by road traffic accident, infections through mumps, measles and meningitis and excessive noise from workplaces could be repaired.

He urged pregnant women to be serious with their antenatal visits to avert their babies from developing hearing problems.

He also called on people, who worked at noisy environment to always wear ear protectors to prevent hearing loss.

'Hearing loss can be prevented and such measures should be taken seriously and adhered to', he said.