The first time a baby says \u201cmom\u201d or \u201cdad\u201d often becomes a cherished memory. But long before children learn to speak, they learn to listen. Caregivers usually assume that children can hear when they are spoken to, when words and sounds are introduced. But what happens when that process does not unfold as expected?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the World Health Organization (WHO)<\/a>, children with some degree of hearing loss<\/a> may experience difficulties in language development, with consequences for their education and social skills. Even so, an estimated 60% of the causes of childhood hearing loss are preventable<\/a>, provided they are detected and treated early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the main challenges is that many low- and middle-income countries lack sufficient resources to identify hearing loss in a timely way. In response, a team of researchers at Hospital Zambrano Hellion<\/a>, part of TecSalud<\/a> at Tec de Monterrey, is working on the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/a> technologies to support otolaryngologists in diagnosing hearing loss in infants and young children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project aims to develop a platform that allows physicians to enter patient data and receive predictions\u2014generated by AI models\u2014about possible diagnoses and future complications, based on knowledge previously generated by specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMedical AI to support auditory diagnosis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n