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Sarawak minister urges corporate bodies to help children hear again
KUCHING, Oct 7, 2014:
Every year, around 60 Sarawakian new-borns suffer from hearing loss and urgently require cochlear implants.
In revealing this, Second Resource Planning and Environment Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said based on information from doctors, hearing loss among the new-borns was around 0.16% (about 1 in 1,000).
Sarawak sees about 35,000 normal births annually.
Awang Tengah said moderate to profound hearing loss for children aged between three and 17 was 0.45% (about 1 in 222 children) and for Sarawak’s population that would mean 3,000 to 4,000 children.
“However, there is hope for young children with profound hearing loss to hear again via cochlear implant, but of course, like many new technologies, cochlear implants are not cheap.
“The cost is beyond what an ordinary family can afford,” he said at the presentation of donation cheques today for two three-year-olds, Renee Ngien Xue Yun and Eunice Renalto, both from Sibu.
Cochlear implant is a device that stimulates nerves inside the inner ear to produce hearing sensations to a person with severe or profound deafness.
Awang Tengah said these unfortunate children need the support of corporate bodies and individuals to come to their aid by donating to the Children Cochlear Implant Fund so that more could regain normal hearing.
Awang Tengah said cochlear implant was now possible in Sarawak and could be performed by local specialist Dr Ting Ing Ping and his team at the Sarawak General Hospital and University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), as well as his colleagues who were working at the Sibu and Miri hospitals.
