Dzulkefly said the ministry’s medical aid fund has also approved nearly RM9 million for ear, nose and throat-related medical services.

“The funds approved for otorhinolaryngology (ORL) services have been recorded as the third highest (sum) in medical aid.

“These efforts were made to provide opportunities for children with hearing problems and ensure they are empowered in their learning activities,” he said when officiating a “Hear Me Malaysia’s Got Talent” event at Cyberjaya Hospital today.

Dzulkefly also said his ministry provided hearing checks for 68,823 newborn babies from Dec 13, 2023 to March 21 this year through its universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) programme.

“This programme is critical. Although the diagnosed children cannot be immediately given cochlear implants, they can at least be monitored and be given hearing aids,” he said.

He said 987 newborns were diagnosed with hearing issues in 2023 through the UNHS programme and are currently undergoing treatment and intervention measures.

The programme has been expanded to 61 government hospitals.

Dzulkefly said past data showed that one out of 20 adults in Malaysia experiences hearing issues while four out of 1,000 newborns are born with hearing disabilities.

Citing World Health Organization data, he said an estimated US$1 trillion (RM4.69 trillion) is lost globally to unaddressed hearing issues.

“Until action is taken, this loss will continue to increase in the coming decades. At the same time, the study found that investing in ear and hearing care is highly cost effective. The government can expect a return of almost US$16 for every US$1 invested,” he said.

Dzulkefly also urged the public to avoid stigmatising people who wear hearing aids, and applauded Hear Me’s effort to demonstrate that the community with hearing issues is not limited by their disability.