Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) Machine or OAE Machine, an important piece of equipment for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) was donated by Iskandar Malaysia Hero Awards (IMSHA) winner, Yayasan Kebajikan Suria together with the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia Johor Branch (RISM) to the Audiology department of Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA) Johor Bahru.
James Ho, the founder and chairman of the Yayasan Kebajikan Suria fondly known as ‘Uncle James’ brought in RISM as a faithful partner for this round of donations, whom he connected with through the organisation’s senior chairperson.
Chairman of RISM Johor Branch, Sr. Tang Shin Wee said on behalf of the organisation that represents the state’s surveyors, they feel honoured to be part of the endeavours.
“As a part of the society, we think it is the best time to contribute back, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic where a lot of people are in need of help.”
He said this is the organisation’s second contribution to the hospital and believes there will be more opportunities to work together with both Yayasan Kebajikan Suria and HSA.
Hospital Sultanah Aminah’s ENT Surgeon, Dr Tey Kai Jun, said, “We’re really thankful for the contribution of the OAE machine.”
“..Previously the department tried to get a loan and at the same time, we were asking for help and that is how the NGOs came into the picture and got us another one,” said Tey.
“We are trying to help screen all newborns for any hearing loss. A lot of government hospitals have already done UNHS, which means whether you have or don’t have any risk factors in any normal baby, the screening should be done.”
“We have been having this issue, and have been asking for a budget as we (currently) have one in our department but it is not enough,” added Tey.
“HSA is quite a big hospital and we deliver up to 14,000 babies per year, as of 2022,” she said, mentioning that the number of live birth in HSA increases periodically.
Siti Nadrah Zahir, Medical Rehabilitation Officer, added that “..With the addition of the equipment, we are hoping to achieve 95% of total newborn screening, an increase of 40% from the current percentage.”
She cited the Minister of Health, Khairy Jamaluddin during his speech at the launch of the national level of the World Hearing Day 2022, that one of the measures taken was identifying hearing impairment among newborns.
The ministry has set the number of newborn babies to have undergone screening for hearing problems must improve to meet the 95% and above target set by the International Joint Committee on Infant Hearing.
“We can’t really pick up everyone, if we missed any mother and baby when they come back, it would probably be at a very late stage of the disease (that could have been found out earlier), and that case would be difficult to handle,” said Dr Tey adding hearing is important for speech and development – they would even have difficulty talking which would ultimately affect their school performance.
The target set by MOH for all hospitals is screening by one month, diagnosis by 3 months, and intervention by 6 months old with hearing aids or any operations that are needed.
“If we found any profound hearing loss from the newborns, we would refer them to Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) for cochlea implant,” continued Dr Tey.
The machine which costs RM20,000 were obtained through fundraising from the two NGOs.
With additional OAE and the one they currently have, they are hoping to get a third one soon.
Interested parties that are keen to help Yayasan Kebajikan Suria and RISM to raise funds for the third HSA’s OEM may call the president of Yayasan Kebajikan Suria, Mr James at 019-772 4172.
Visit RISM’s Facebook page and Yayasan Kebajikan Suria’s Facebook page to see more of their past charity runs.
