Deaf couple seek USD 13,500 to save son’s hearing

Duong Bao Khang, from Cam Due commune in Ha Tinh, was born with congenital hearing loss and has never clearly heard sound or spoken his first words.

His situation is especially heartbreaking because both of his parents are deaf and mute from birth.

Nguyen Thi Lan, Khang’s 68-year-old grandmother, said her son Duong Xuan Cuong, 39, and daughter-in-law Vo Thi Loan, 35, were both born deaf.

“Their first child developed normally, but Khang was born with congenital hearing impairment,” she said.

Lan previously took her grandson to Hanoi for medical examinations but was eventually forced to bring him home because the family could no longer afford treatment costs.

Khang’s father works as a construction labourer near home with unstable income, while the child and his sibling are mainly cared for by their elderly grandparents.

Despite deteriorating health and constant illness, the grandparents continue taking on odd jobs to support the family.

“Now we do not know where else to turn,” Lan said. “We only hope kind-hearted people can help Khang have the chance to hear and speak like other children.”

Following a recent specialist hearing examination at Nghe An Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital, doctors said Khang still has a chance to regain hearing if he receives early cochlear implant treatment.

However, the out-of-pocket cost for implantation in one ear, not covered by health insurance, is around VND 350 million (approximately USD 13,500), far beyond the family’s means.

Phan Quang Trung, deputy head of the hospital’s Ear, Nose and Throat Department, said Khang was approaching the end of the critical “golden period” for language intervention in children with congenital hearing loss.

“If this period is missed, the child risks permanently losing the ability to hear and speak,” Trung said. “Cochlear implant surgery is now the urgent and almost only option.”

Pham Van Thin, chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Cam Due Commune, confirmed the family belonged to one of the poorest households in the area.

“The family is in extremely difficult circumstances and owns almost nothing of value,” Thin said, calling on the community to support Khang’s treatment.

Holding her grandson tightly, Lan said she still hoped for compassion from the public to preserve what she described as the family’s final hope for the child’s future.