PURPOSE: to describe the compliance and attitudes of hearing-impaired children towards the treatment and support offered by the Hearing Health Program, a public health endeavor, and assessing patients’ returns for follow-ups. METHODS: participants consisted of fifty children aged from 0 to 8 years, with a diagnosis of mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss. The children received the hearing aids from the Hearing Health Program, in Vila Velha, in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The research protocol was completed using both medical records and a socio-economical profile survey of the affected children, including the behavioral adaptation as for hearing aids. RESULTS: the requirement of patient return for follow-ups facilitated the attendance of nearly half the population (44%); results indicate that there seems to be an association between compliance with the program and school routine. CONCLUSION: the aforementioned program mostly affects families with a monthly income from one to two minimum wages. Hearing loss is diagnosed between the chronological ages of two and three years in this study. The first adaptation with hearing aids at the age of six is quite late. The contact with the parents promoted by the social workers facilitates the proposed evaluation. School attendance also proved to have a positive influence on the evaluation.
Children; Hearing Loss; Hearing Aids; Public Health
