There are families in Chandauli, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, and Mirzapur who know something is wrong with their child’s hearing but do not know where to go first, what it will cost, or whether anyone in Varanasi can actually help. There are adults in Lanka and Sigra who have been turning up the television for two years and chalking it up to age. There are people managing blood sugar with kitchen remedies because no one has ever explained what a pre-diabetic reading means.<\/p>\n
On 27 September 2026, World Deaf Day, Satkriti Hospital is opening its doors to all of them. Free ENT consultations, free hearing assessments, free cochlear implant information sessions, and free blood sugar screening, all in one place, all day, with no fee and no registration.<\/p>\n
It is the hospital’s way of marking World Deaf Awareness Week 2026 with something more concrete than a banner.<\/p>\n
World Deaf Awareness Week is observed globally during the last week of September. It was established by the World Federation of the Deaf to draw attention to the rights, access, and healthcare challenges faced by the deaf and hard of hearing community worldwide. The week concludes on World Deaf Day, which falls on 27 September in 2026.<\/p>\n
What is the purpose of World Deaf Awareness Week? The week exists to address the gap between how hearing loss is perceived and how seriously it should be taken as a public health issue. In many parts of India, including Uttar Pradesh, hearing loss in children is still regarded as something a family adjusts to rather than a medical condition with a clear treatment pathway. Awareness weeks create the social permission for conversations that do not happen naturally.<\/p>\n
For Satkriti Hospital, a hospital that has spent over a decade running cochlear implant programmes in Varanasi, the week is a natural moment to reach patients who may not have considered walking through the doors of a specialist ENT hospital before.<\/p>\n
India has one of the highest burdens of hearing loss in the world. The National Programme for Prevention and Control of Deafness estimates that approximately 63 million Indians live with significant hearing loss, with a disproportionate share of this burden falling on children under the age of 5 and on adults in non-metro regions.<\/p>\n
In Varanasi and the Purvanchal belt, several factors compound this. Access to diagnostic audiological services, meaning services equipped for BERA, impedance testing, and proper pure tone audiometry, is limited to a handful of specialist centres. Most primary care settings cannot run a proper hearing test. Children with hearing loss are often identified late, after the critical 0 to 3 year window for language development has partially closed. Adults with gradual hearing loss defer seeking care for years because they do not know specialist attention is warranted.<\/p>\n
The cochlear implant programme at Satkriti Hospital sees this pattern repeatedly. Families arrive from across eastern Uttar Pradesh with children who are 4 or 5 years old, whose hearing loss could have been detected at 12 months if a screening pathway had existed in their district. The camp on 27 September is one attempt to narrow that gap by bringing screening to people, rather than waiting for people to find screening.<\/p>\n
The camp covers four services, available simultaneously on 27 September 2026 at the hospital in Lanka.<\/p>\n
Free ENT consultations for any ear, nose or throat condition: recurring ear infections, chronic sinusitis, nasal blockage, throat complaints, hoarseness, vertigo, or tinnitus. The hospital’s ENT team, led by Dr. Manoj Kumar Gupta, Dr. Abhineet Jain, and Dr. Ankit Ojha, will be present.<\/p>\n
Free hearing assessments for children and adults who suspect hearing difficulty. Parents with concerns about a young child’s response to sound, or adults who have noticed gradual changes in their hearing, can get a baseline assessment and guidance on next steps.<\/p>\n
Free cochlear implant awareness sessions for families who need information about cochlear implant surgery, candidacy, rehabilitation, and government support. This includes specific information on the ADIP scheme, which provides cochlear implants at no cost to eligible children aged 0 to 5 from economically weaker backgrounds, and on Ayushman Bharat PMJAY<\/a> coverage for ENT care.<\/p>\n Free blood sugar and diabetes screening at a separate station. A blood glucose reading, explained on the spot, with guidance on follow-up if results are abnormal.<\/p>\n All four services are available without any fee, any appointment, and any prior documentation requirement, though bringing relevant medical records saves time.<\/p>\n The question worth asking is straightforward: if a condition can be diagnosed and treated, why do so many patients delay getting help?<\/p>\n Cost is one reason, but it is rarely the only one. Specialist care in Varanasi involves consultation fees, diagnostic test charges, travel time, and the loss of a working day. For a family from Chandauli or Ghazipur, a trip to a specialist hospital in Lanka is a half-day commitment, minimum. Multiplied across several visits, it becomes a genuine barrier.<\/p>\n Awareness is another reason. Many patients do not know that hearing loss<\/a> in children has a proven treatment pathway, that cochlear implant surgery is not experimental, or that government schemes exist that cover the cost for qualifying families. The first conversation is often the most important one, and that conversation is exactly what the camp’s cochlear implant information station provides.<\/p>\n The third reason is institutional trust. For families who have never interacted with a specialist hospital, walking in for the first time is not straightforward. A free camp lowers the initial barrier. A family that attends the camp, speaks with the clinical team, and leaves with a concrete recommendation is far more likely to follow through with a proper appointment than a family that has only heard about the hospital by word of mouth.<\/p>\n What is the ADIP cochlear implant scheme? The Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP) scheme, run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, funds cochlear implant surgery for hearing-impaired children between 0 and 5 years from families below a defined income threshold. The scheme covers the device, the surgical procedure, and the immediate post-operative programming.<\/p>\n Satkriti Hospital is an active partner in this scheme and handles the application process in-house. Families do not need to travel to government offices separately. At the camp’s cochlear implant information station, families can understand whether their child meets the medical criteria for cochlear implantation, whether they meet the ADIP income eligibility criteria, and what documents they would need to begin the process.<\/p>\n More on the cochlear implant surgery, the switch-on process, and the rehabilitation pathway is available in Satkriti Hospital’s detailed cochlear implant guide<\/a>. Families who read it before the camp arrive with better questions and leave with more useful answers.<\/p>\n The hospital’s social services page<\/a> lists the range of government-supported programmes it participates in, including both the ADIP scheme and Ayushman Bharat PMJAY.<\/p>\n The connection between diabetes and hearing loss is supported by clinical evidence. A review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that hearing loss is approximately twice as common in people with diabetes as in those without it. The proposed mechanism involves damage to the small blood vessels and nerves that supply the inner ear, similar to the vascular damage diabetes causes in the kidneys and eyes.<\/p>\n In practice, this means patients who come to the diabetes screening station and are found to have elevated blood sugar should also have their hearing checked, and patients who attend for a hearing assessment should consider a blood sugar reading at the same time. The camp makes both available on the same day.<\/p>\n Satkriti Hospital’s diabetes care programme<\/a> focuses on preventive management, individualized care plans, and patient education. For patients who have been managing elevated blood sugar without formal medical guidance, the camp is an entry point into structured care.<\/p>\n When and where is the Satkriti Hospital Deaf Awareness Week camp?<\/p>\n The camp is on 27 September 2026 at Satkriti Hospital, Near Sankat Mochan Mandir, Lanka, Varanasi 221005. It runs as a walk-in event throughout the day. No registration or appointment is needed.<\/p>\n What does World Deaf Day mean and why is Satkriti Hospital marking it?<\/p>\n World Deaf Day is observed on the last Sunday of September each year. It is the closing day of World Deaf Awareness Week, a global observance by the World Federation of the Deaf. Satkriti Hospital marks it with a free health camp because it works directly with hearing-impaired patients and families, many of whom lack easy access to specialist ENT care.<\/p>\n Is this camp only for patients with hearing loss?<\/p>\n No. The camp includes ENT consultations for any ear, nose or throat complaint, and a separate diabetes screening station. Patients with sinus problems, throat conditions, recurring ear infections, or blood sugar concerns can all attend.<\/p>\n Can patients from outside Varanasi attend the camp?<\/p>\n Yes. Satkriti Hospital regularly treats patients from Chandauli, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Mirzapur, Azamgarh, and other Purvanchal districts. The camp is open to all, regardless of place of residence.<\/p>\n What follow-up is available after the camp for ADIP scheme applicants?<\/p>\n Families who attend the cochlear implant information session and wish to proceed with an ADIP application can book a formal medical assessment appointment at Satkriti Hospital. The hospital’s team handles the scheme documentation directly. Families do not need a separate government office visit to begin.<\/p>\n How does the hospital handle cashless treatment for post-camp care?<\/p>\n The hospital is empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY and accepts listed insurance plans. PMJAY beneficiaries should bring their Ayushman card for verification at the hospital’s Ayushman desk. Full details: cashless treatment<\/a><\/p>\n If there is a child at home who has not been responding normally to sound, or a family member whose hearing has been quietly declining, or a blood sugar reading that has not been checked in years, 27 September is a day to address it.<\/p>\n Satkriti Hospital, Near Sankat Mochan Mandir, Lanka, Varanasi 221005. Walk in. No fee. No appointment needed.<\/p>\n For questions before the day: call +91 87658 48001 between 10 AM and 7 PM. For directions, visit the contact page<\/a>. To book a regular appointment for post-camp follow-up, visit the appointment page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are families in Chandauli, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, and Mirzapur who know something is wrong with their child’s hearing but do not know where to go first, what it will cost, or whether anyone in Varanasi can actually help. There are adults in Lanka and Sigra who have been turning up the television for two years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Free Camps Matter in Varanasi<\/h2>\n
Cochlear Implants, the ADIP Scheme, and What Families in Varanasi Need to Know<\/h2>\n
Diabetes and Hearing Health \u2014 The Connection<\/h2>\n
Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
Visit on 27 September 2026<\/h2>\n