‘I suddenly began hearing’: Surat woman regains hearing after 20 years following dental implants

For nearly 20 years, 63-year-old Jaibunnisha M from Kosamba in Surat district lived in near silence. Over the past decade, even top-quality hearing aids failed to help, isolating her from social life. She stopped going to weddings and gatherings. Locals assumed she had grown aloof since her children lived abroad—but in reality, she simply couldn’t hear them.

Everything changed this July.

A cochlear implant surgery was scheduled. Her daughter, a radiologist, flew in from Dubai, while her other daughter, a dentist, remained on standby from the US. But just before the operation, something unexpected happened.


"I was sitting at home when I suddenly began hearing sounds," said Jaibunnisha. "I ran to tell my husband. We even went to our neighbour's house to confirm it wasn't just us." It wasn’t.

This improvement came after several dental implant procedures, including full-mouth reconstruction, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) rehabilitation, and nerve decompression. Implant specialist Dr Rishi Bhatt remarked, "Her hearing improved after the dental work. It's possible that decompressing the nerve connected to the ear had an effect."

Surprised by the results, her ENT team halted the cochlear surgery. ENT surgeon Dr Ashraf Master confirmed, "Her audiogram shows marked improvement."

Once dependent on others for basic phone conversations, Jaibunnisha can now chat effortlessly and is excited about attending social events again. "My calls used to be one-way – she'd talk, we'd listen," said her daughter Tehzeeb. "Now she's back."

Even her husband Abbas, a doctor, was amazed. "At first, I didn't believe her," he said. "But we thank the almighty. The dental implant helped her hear again."

Was it science or a miracle? Possibly both, say doctors. For Jaibunnisha, though, what matters most is regaining the dignity that silence once took from her.

[With TOI inputs]