Papua Health Office Plans Hearing Impairment Survey, First To Be Conducted In Cenderawasih Earth

Hearing impairments. (Pexels-Armin Rimoldi)

PAPUA - The Papua Provincial Health Office (Dinkes) is planning a survey of people with hearing impairment.

Head of the Papua Provincial Health Office Robby Kayame said, if this is realized, this will be the first time that Bumi Cenderawasih has conducted a hearing survey. The effort is for early detection measures.

"For this reason, it is very important to conduct a survey first so that later the assistance provided can be right on target," he said in Jayapura, Papua, Sunday, March 5, reported by Antara.

He explained, indeed hearing impairment is now a concern of the central government so that in the regions they will also continue to carry out the directives and policies that have been implemented.

"We urge the public to immediately carry out early checks if they experience hearing loss. Because that way it can provide an opportunity for people with hearing loss to regain hearing functions," he said.

Meanwhile, the Director for Non-Communicable Disease Control at the Ministry of Health, Eva Susanti, said that the World Report On Hearing 2021 states that around 1.5 billion people in the world have hearing loss, as many as 430 million of whom require rehabilitation services for bilateral hearing loss.

"Without intensive management, it is estimated that around 2.5 billion people in the world will experience hearing loss by 2050. Around 700 million people are estimated to need rehabilitation and hearing aids," she said.

Robby added, currently, his party is focusing on non-infectious diseases or PTM but the death rate is high in the country, including the world. Among them are cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cholesterol, gout, to the heart.

"We are still focused on PTM because based on data this disease kills quite a lot of Indigenous Papuans (OAP)," he said.