The Gyeongbuk Office of Education provides support for the ‘Cochlear Implant Surgery Costs for Hearing-Impaired Students’ to guarantee the learning rights of hearing-impaired students and alleviate the financial burden on their parents.
Cochlear implant surgery for hearing-impaired children is a procedure that restores hearing for patients with severe hearing loss who find it difficult to hear even with hearing aids. The surgery is expensive, and high costs continue to occur every 5 to 10 years for the replacement of external and internal devices, placing a significant financial burden on parents.
Despite these challenging circumstances, the expansion of support for cochlear implant surgery costs by the Gyeongbuk Office of Education sends a great message of hope to hearing-impaired students.
Hearing-impaired students who have regained their hearing through cochlear implant surgery can study freely with their friends at school and live confidently in society, significantly improving their quality of life.
The support targets students enrolled in kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high schools who are designated as special education recipients due to hearing impairment and require cochlear implant surgery, related component replacements, or hearing aid support.
Applicants are reviewed through on-site inspections, assessment of the degree of disability, family environment, school life, and homeroom teacher’s opinion letters. Support students are selected through consultations with a customized support team and receive reimbursement up to 10 million KRW per person.
In 2022, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education became the first in the nation to launch the cochlear implant surgery cost support project. In its first year, it supported a total of 22 students with 100 million KRW, not only promoting the healthy growth of hearing-impaired students but also continuously striving to guarantee educational opportunities.
The family of a student who received cochlear implant surgery shared a touching story, saying, “Thanks to the support project of the Gyeongbuk Office of Education, we are very grateful to have fulfilled a lifelong wish,” shedding tears of gratitude.
This year, after on-site inspections and consultations by the customized support team, 18 students were finally selected, and a budget of 80 million KRW will be provided by the end of December.
Lim Jong-sik, Superintendent of the Gyeongbuk Office of Education, said, “We believe that support for cochlear implant surgery costs will greatly contribute to guaranteeing the educational rights of hearing-impaired students and expanding their social participation. Through this support, we hope that more hearing-impaired students will be able to hear sounds and live confidently as members of society in a new world.”
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