The ministry's Acting Director General of Disease Prevention and Control, Yudhi Pramono, noted here on Monday that based on the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey (SKI), the prevalence of hearing loss among individuals over one year old stood at 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the survey also revealed that 4.1 percent of people over one year of age use hearing aids, indicating a significant rate of disability due to hearing loss in Indonesia.
"It means four in 100 people in Indonesia are hearing aid users. This shows that the rate of disability due to hearing loss is quite high in Indonesia," he stated during a media briefing as part of the World Hearing Day 2025 commemoration.
He noted that ear infections are one of the most common causes of hearing loss in children under five.
It is estimated that chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) accounts for around 22.6 percent of cases in adolescents and young adults.
According to Pramono, behavioral change is the biggest challenge in preventing hearing loss, citing noise exposure and the increasing use of electronic devices or audio devices as major risk factors.
He noted that health promotion efforts focus on encouraging the community to be mindful and prioritize hearing loss prevention through early detection at health facilities, the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in noisy places, and the adoption of safe listening habits while using audio devices, among others.
Pramono also outlined several effective strategies to reduce the hearing loss rate, including immunization, workplace hearing conservation programs for noise, promoting safe listening practices to reduce exposure to loud noise in recreational settings, and the judicious use of preventive medication.
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Translator: Mecca Yumna, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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