Eighteen children are able to hear sounds for the first time after being fitted with cochlear implants, surgically implanted electronic devices that provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing in both ears.
The surgeries were carried out at the public Hospital Civil Nuevo and funded through state and federal government programs. All children with hearing problems under the age of 12 in Mexico are eligible for support through the Caracol program run by the national Family Development Agency (DIF).
A cochlear implant costs around 300,000 pesos, plus surgical expenses of 200,000 pesos.
Six out of every 1,000 children born in the state of Jalisco are diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss.