Hearing hope for baby Ezlin
7 November 2025
A key aim of the Social Purpose Program is to ensure that no child is left without essential hearing care, regardless of visa status or financial barriers.
Eight-month-old Ezlin is ineligible for the CSO program because her parents, Laiba and Muhammad, are in Australia on temporary visas. Despite already facing incredible medical challenges, including craniofacial dysmorphia, cardiac anomalies, reliance on supplemental oxygen, and nasogastric feeding, she has shown remarkable resilience. Ezlin is currently an inpatient at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Victoria awaiting surgery.
Amidst these difficulties, one area of support has brought unexpected hope and joy to her family: hearing care.
After failing her newborn hearing screening and diagnostic testing, Ezlin was referred to Hearing Australia. On 11 September, she was fitted with hearing aids. Since then, she has begun vocalising, turning to her name, and engaging in simple interactions, milestones that bring daily joy to her parents.
Laiba, currently studying a Master’s in Early Education, understands how critical hearing is to her daughter’s development. Together with her husband Muhammad, she shared how hearing support has been a lifeline. With Ezlin’s many medical needs, they worried about costs, but through Hearing Australia’s Social Purpose Fund, her hearing care was fully funded.
Ezlin’s journey is a powerful reminder of the difference our Social Purpose Fund is making, bringing light and hope into an uncertain path.
