The President of Nigerian Audiology Association, Dr. Irene Okeke-Igbokwe, who hails from Anambra State, is also a Fellow of American Academy of Audiology and Chief Executive Officer of International Hearing Centre (IHC) in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Port Harcourt. In this interview with our Southsouth Bureau Chief, BISI OLANIYI, in Port Harcourt, she recommends that everybody should go for an ear check at least once a year. Excerpts:
What motivated you to establish the International Hearing Centre in Lagos, with branches in Abuja, Enugu and Port Harcourt?
The International Hearing Centre has as parent company, the Stanford Heights Hearing Centre, Maplewood, New Jersey in the United States of America, where I still practise. The parent company is 28 years old.
In 1997, I decided to bring back the technology to my home country, Nigeria. I was involved with the Federal Ministry of Defence to set up the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre, in Yaba, Lagos, the first of its kind in West Africa. It was inaugurated on October 8, 1998 and it has brought succour to many officers, soldiers, their families and it is open to members of the public.
The International Hearing Centre was incorporated in 1997 and it gave birth to the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre, Yaba, Lagos, which I established. I came back to Nigeria, actually because of the death in 1995 of my father, Patrick Okeke, a Commissioner of Police in the then Eastern Region, comprising eleven states and he was also the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in the defunct Biafra Republic.
As an audiologist in USA with good practice, I decided to establish audiological centres, for the love of my country and for Nigerians to also benefit from my experience and knowledge.
I decided to establish the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre, Yaba, Lagos because audiology started during the Second World War, when American soldiers went to war, came back and they noticed that some of them could not hear, thereby setting up rehabilitation and audiology centres to be tested and to give succour to the officers, soldiers and their families, I felt that where to start to bring back audiology practice was the military. I also went round all the medical formations in the Nigerian Army. It has been a success story.
When the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre was opened to civilians, I then saw the dire need for the service because it is a new field, without enough manpower. People were coming from far and wide for the services. So, I decided to set up International Hearing Centres in Enugu, Abuja and now in Port Harcourt. We have another International Hearing Centre in Lagos, apart from the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre.
We are taking audiology service to the people. It breaks my heart that in a country like Nigeria, with its wealth, but this type of service where people with hearing disorder can benefit, many Nigerians do not have access. It bothered me the day a patient was referred from Jalingo in Taraba State to see me in Lagos. She did 18 hours of travelling by road to have the service.
The mission of International Hearing Centre is to use the best practice pattern within our scope of practice and code of ethics, to bring succour to people with hearing disorder and to better their quality of life.
Our vision is to make sure that we are leading in audiology practice in Nigeria and Africa. In the nearest future, we intend to have International Hearing Centre and audiology practice in all the 36 states of Nigeria, in order to have the services closer to the people.
What is hearing health month about?
It means the month every professional in audiology will recognise, give advocacy and create awareness, so that the people will know about our services. We will counsel the people and give free screening. It holds throughout the month of May. In Port Harcourt, we decided to give hearing aids to some persons.
We are kicking off in Port Harcourt today. Not only recognising the hearing health month, but also opening Port Harcourt centre. October is audiology month. May is hearing and speech month. March 3rd is recognised globally as World Hearing Day.
Care for your ear/hearing is part of your wellness care and health. Just like you regularly check your Blood Pressure (BP) and sugar level and you go for eye test, hearing check should be part of the regular care, because hearing is the gateway to communication. When you do not hear very well, you tend to have issues negatively in so many facets of life, especially educationally, socially and emotionally.
What are the challenges in running the hearing centres and how have you been surmounting them?
That’s a very great question. If I do not have passion for what I do, honestly, I would have returned to USA, where my family is. I have been in Nigeria since 1997, focusing on the hearing centres. I still have a practice in USA. I can write a book on the challenges of doing professional business, especially audiology practice in this country.
We have been growing in leaps and bounds, but not with the pace I thought we would have done. One of the challenges is having fraudulent staff. I have taken some of them outside Nigeria for training for some months, particularly in Germany and USA. I do not discriminate, when I see potential in the staff.
Epileptic nature of electric power supply in Nigeria is another challenge. How many equipment will the noisy generator carry? You will also consider fuelling and maintenance of the generator. The Federal Government must do something about having regular electricity throughout Nigeria.
I have my own structure in Enugu, but we are operating from rented buildings in other centres in Nigeria. The practice of audiology is capital intensive. The equipment is very expensive.
Security of lives and property is also a challenge. A member of staff in Abuja centre decided to abscond with my equipment in 2015, but he was arrested by the police and the case is still in court.
While travelling by road in Nigeria, you will keep seeing policemen stopping vehicles to collect N100 from drivers, stupidly pretending to be checking papers of vehicles. So irritating and annoying. I never experienced that embarrassment in USA. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, should take immediate action to restore sanity, respect and decency in the Nigeria Police Force by stopping the harassment and extortion. In USA, once you maintain the speed limit, nobody will harass you.
How will you advise Nigerians?
Nigerians should have their hearing checked at least once a year. Persons with hearing problem should seek the advice and care of professionals. People should not be careless with their health, the ears inclusive.