Many of us spend hours a day listening to sounds at levels that our ears are probably not meant for. But how often do we stop and think about how it’s impacting our hearing each time we kick the volume button up a notch? In conjunction with World Hearing Day - which is observed annually on 3rd March - we speak to Dr Natalia Wroblewska, Public Health Specialist with the WHO Representative Office for Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore, on how we can listen out for our hearing health.

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What if we could one day cure all cancers? Why has it been so difficult for scientists to find a cure? In this mini series, we explore the challenges that scientists face and what a cure would mean to people living with cancer. In this episode, we speak to consultant gynaecological oncologist Prof Dr Woo Yin Ling and consultant clinical oncologist Dr Jennifer Leong.

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Our body needs glucose to function, but as with all things in life, you can have too much of a good thing. We dive into what glucose does to our body and whether “hacks” to lower glucose spikes work, as consultant urologist Dr George Lee is joined by consultant endocrinologist Dr Saiful Kassim.

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As a parent today, it’s easy to get caught up in debates over Montessori versus traditional kindergartens, international versus national schools, and British versus American, Australian, and so on. But what if we put all the labels aside, and focused on the fundamentals of how children learn best: through playing outdoors, getting dirty, and exploring with all their faculties and senses. We dig into non-traditional learning, with Dr Rajini Sarvananthan, Consultant Developmental Paediatrician, as well as Johleen Koh and Nor Shidawati Abd Rasid, Co-Founders of KNOTS (Knowledge New Old Twists). Find out about KNOTs’ activities on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Improving quality of life for someone living with a rare disorder isn’t just about treating or finding a cure to the condition, but also about helping them lead as normal a life as they can. In many cases, rehabilitation such as physiotherapy can play a vital role. Here to help us understand that are Sharfiza Abdul Aziz, senior paediatric physiotherapist, as well as Nur’shafinaz binti Salehen, whose son Ahmad Ammar Adam lives with Cri du Chat syndrome.

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Back in 2022, Fuad would visit KLIA regularly over the course of April to June, where his late son’s architecture installation, ‘Polyhedron Pavilion’, was on exhibit. Having lost his son to suicide in 2021, Fuad treasured such remaining connections and memories of his son, and slowly learned to come to terms with the grief. Fuad shares his journey of surviving the suicide loss and why he authored two books, "Living with Grief: The Untold Story" and "The Last Notes", as part of his advocacy about mental health and suicide prevention.

Every mental health struggle has a story behind it. ‘Because Feelings Matter’ is a series that brings you the stories of people and their mental health issues. These stories aim to normalise conversations about mental health, and to show that it’s okay to struggle emotionally and psychologically, but more importantly, to reach out for help. This series is produced in collaboration with Thrive Well.

Content warning: This conversation brings up difficult topics like suicide and self-harm. If you need to talk about your mental health problems, look for local support within your community, or call helplines like: Talian HEAL at 15555, MIASA's 24-hour helpline at 1-800-1800-66, or Befrienders KL at 03-7627 2929.

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The struggles faced by children and young adults with Type 1 diabetes are still largely unnoticed by the public, healthcare providers and policymakers. In last month’s NCD Chronicles, 20-year-old Nazril Hadani described the ups and downs of growing up with Type 1 diabetes. In the second part of this feature, we’re looking at the gaps that people with Type 1 face, in terms of access to treatment, glucose monitoring and insurance coverage. (Listen to Part 1 here.)

NCD Chronicles is a series about people living with NCDs, going beyond the diagnosis to explore their personal experiences, their challenges, as well as the impact of their health condition on their loved ones. These stories reveal the importance of understanding the unique struggles and needs of the individuals behind the disease, in our response to the NCD epidemic.

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One in six adults in Malaysia have diabetes, but more than half do not have good glucose control. With poorly controlled diabetes comes astronomical costs of treating the long-term complications - not only to patients and caregivers, but placing a huge burden on an under-resourced healthcare system. Prof Dr Sanjay Rampal and Prof Dr Lim Lee Ling from University of Malaya, co-authors of a recently-published study on diabetes control among Malaysians, join us to unpack why younger adults fare poorly in this regard, and how we can change treatment approaches to improve this trend.

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On this month’s Ask A Doctor, we are addressing questions about high cholesterol and blood pressure. Consultant cardiologist Dr Effarezan Abdul Rahman joins us to answer the most common concerns about these two conditions. 

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We’re often told that we must “move it or lose it” when it comes to our musculoskeletal health, and this is especially true in your older years. So what does “moving it” entail?  On this episode of Healthy Ageing, we speak to Dr Elaine Hong and Imelda Yong, co-founders of Breakfree Movement, to find out how exercise can be made easier and better for older adults.

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