6 hrs ago
Hearing-Impaired Student Overcomes Setbacks to Pursue Medical Dream
Vidhita Gupta is a 17-year-old student who wants to become a doctor.
She was born with serious hearing loss.
When she was four, doctors gave her a cochlear implant to help her hear.
She worked hard in school and took the NEET medical entrance exam.
The first exam was cancelled, so she had to take it again.
She passed the second exam and earned a place at a medical college in Gujarat.
Vidhita worried that a normal stethoscope would not work for her.
A wireless stethoscope connected to her cochlear implant can help solve that problem.
She has not yet chosen which medical specialty she will study.
Seventeen-year-old Vidhita Gupta secured admission to MP Shah Government Medical College in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
She retook NEET after the first examination was cancelled over a suspected paper leak.
Born with congenital hearing loss, Vidhita received a cochlear implant at age four.
A Bluetooth-enabled wireless stethoscope can connect to her cochlear implant for medical training.
Vidhita faced isolation at several schools but continued her education in Gujarati medium.
- Who
- Seventeen-year-old Vidhita Gupta, her family, and doctors who supported her cochlear implant care.
- What
- Vidhita secured admission to MP Shah Government Medical College after retaking the NEET examination and can use a wireless stethoscope linked to her cochlear implant.
- Where
- MP Shah Government Medical College in Jamnagar, Gujarat; she studied in Gujarati medium.
- When
- She received her cochlear implant at age four, took the retest after the May NEET examination was cancelled, and recently gained admission.
- Why
- She wants to become a doctor despite congenital hearing loss, and advances in cochlear and stethoscope technology can support her medical education.
Key facts
- Student
- Vidhita Gupta, 17
- Medical college
- MP Shah Government Medical College, Jamnagar
- NEET retest
- She retook the examination after the May test was cancelled over a suspected paper leak.
- Hearing device
- Vidhita received a cochlear implant at age four.
- Stethoscope solution
- A wireless stethoscope with Bluetooth can connect to her cochlear implant.
- Education language
- She studied in Gujarati medium.
- Government support
- Gujarat began providing government-funded cochlear implants under the School Health Programme in December 2013.
- Replacement policy
- In August 2024, Gujarat announced one free replacement speech-processing unit for children previously implanted under the programme.
Quotes
Dr Rajesh Vishwakarma
ENT surgeon who implanted Vidhita’s cochlear device
“I waited for the NEET result, but it never came. I was very disappointed and didn’t know what to do. I started looking at options such as nursing and physiotherapy and BSc. Then re-NEET happened. I was unhappy about the result because I believe I would have scored higher the first time.”
indianexpress.com
“Cochlear implants can be said to give a new life to patients. The day these implants are activated, patients can hear; then they learn to speak, get a normal education and are integrated into the mainstream from a very young age.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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