Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca shared about hearing screening tests. Koca stated that approximately 1 million 100 thousand births occur annually in Türkiye, and 2-3 out of every 1000 babies are born with hearing loss. He added that the rate increased up to 6 percent with temporary hearing loss cases due to diseases experienced during childhood, ear infections, accidents and some medications used, and shared the following information: "We carry out national hearing screening programs to detect hearing loss at an early stage. In this context, we perform hearing screening tests on all newborn babies and children in the first grade of primary school. We aim to reach all the babies and children within the scope of screening, and we perform approximately 2 million screening tests every year. 2,500-2,800 newborn babies are diagnosed with hearing loss on average every year." “Babies detected as suspicious during the screening are referred to advanced diagnosis and treatment centers called reference centers. Hearing screening is performed at schools by healthcare professionals trained in hearing screening for the children in the first grade of primary school within the framework of the determined protocols, and we refer the children detected with problems to the otorhinolaryngologists.”"It is extremely important for children to undergo hearing screenings" Stating that the World Health Organization reported that 50 percent of the factors causing hearing loss are preventable, Koca said, "Health screenings to protect against disability are one of the best methods used for early diagnosis and treatment. For this reason, it is extremely important for children to undergo hearing screenings during the newborn period and at school age." Emphasizing that the priority of the Ministry of Health is to detect hearing loss at an early stage, provide treatment and rehabilitation and thus prevent disability, Minister Koca stated: “There are currently 179 thousand 867 hearing impaired people in Türkiye. Our aim is to ensure that the hearing-impaired children can live on equal terms with healthy children who are their peers in age and intelligence, and to create a healthy generation with the understanding of 'early diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation'. We are in International Week of the Deaf on 18-24 September. Let's be even more sensitive to the hearing-impaired children and adults. Also, let's seek treatment remembering that hearing loss in people without a disability tends to increase."
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