MOH sets 90 pct neonatal hearing screening target in three years

He said currently 62 per cent of babies have undergone hearing tests, adding that the figure needed to be improved to achieve the standard set by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) which was 95 per cent.

In addition to enhancing human resources namely adding more audiologists and increasing asset procurement in hospitals, Khairy said the National Ear and Hearing Care (NEHC) programme should be made a special committee under the ministry's Medical Development division to implement strategic planning, coordination and monitoring of the Universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS) programme.

"It is to ensure that we can carry out early intervention among newborns found to have hearing problems," he said in a press conference held in conjunction with the World Hearing Day 2022 here today.

Khairy said the UNHS programme found that permanent hearing problem incidents occurred among four in every 1,000 babies that were screened, adding that he wanted the programme to be made a national health agenda in the future.

"This is important because hearing impairment among babies and children is a hidden disability. The failure of early detection has a significant impact on their future," he said.

According to Khairy, the 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey estimated that 7.6 per cent of the country's adult population or 1.9 million people suffer from hearing impairment.