Rows of teenagers were seen sitting in a corner of Solo, Wednesday (1/3). Their eyes are engrossed in staring at the screen of the device and their ears are wearing earphones.
“Playing online games. It’s more fun. Use earphones to make the sound even better,” said Reza, a 20-year-old teenager.
The Ministry of Health noted that the younger generation has the potential to experience hearing loss due to use earphones, headsets nor earpods – earplugs with or without wires whose volume can be controlled by the user, without disturbing those around them.
In an online press conference for “World Hearing Day” on Wednesday (1/3), the Director of Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Eva Susanti said technological advances pose a big challenge to the younger generation.
“Challenges are increasing because of new habits during and after the pandemic, the younger generation is getting closer to gadget technology, using hearing devices. They are even ignorant of ear or hearing health. WHO data, it is estimated that 1 to 1.5 billion young people in the world have the potential to experience a decline in function hearing loss due to exposure to noise by listening to music, online games, and so on exceeds the limit,” explained Eva.
More than 50 percent of the younger generation aged 12-35 years listen to music or play online games on mobile phones or computers at a volume above the decibel limit and are at risk of causing hearing loss, added Eva.
The Ministry of Health also noted that around 5,200 babies in Indonesia were born deaf or hard of hearing, an iceberg phenomenon that the government was supposed to pay attention to.
Hearing loss is the fourth leading cause of disability in the world.
Chairman of the Association of Ear Nose and Throat Experts PERHATI-KL, Dr. dr. Yussy Afriani Dewi said hearing is an important human asset because it affects various things, from communication, speech and language development, cognition, education, employment, mental health to interpersonal relationships.
“We at PERHATI-KL have surveyed in 2022 the level of public behavior towards hearing loss starting from knowledge, attitudes and behavior. Of the 1,800 respondents, it turns out that 1,600 of them have very little knowledge about ear health, 50 percent are moderate or normal, and nearly 78 percent behave normally when they have hearing loss,” he explained.
He also explained the decrease in hearing function due to interference with the nerves in the ear.
Early Detection and Hearing Aid Price Subsidies are Needed
Furthermore, Yussy Afriani highlighted the high cost of hearing aids and the urgency of conducting early ear detection on a regular basis.
“The price is still expensive. What’s good is millions of rupiah. If I’m not mistaken, health insurance has a cover price. But hearing aid users feel uncomfortable,” said Yussy.
The Ministry of Health ensures that ear health checks and the provision of hearing aids are included in the BPJS health insurance. Health centers and hospitals will help residents check their ear health and find the right hearing aids. [ys/em]
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