Purpose: As more adult and child immigrants enter the United States each year, there is a high likelihood that the prevalence of childhood hearing loss in the United States is underestimated, given estimations of the number of immigrant children entering the country with hearing loss. Method: Information was collected using online search engines and peer-reviewed journals. The most recent articles available through search engines included in EBSCOhost at the time were used. The gathered data were organized by emigrating country, and the 2 countries with the highest immigration rates were presented. Estimations of the number of children immigrating with hearing loss were made using data from published peer-reviewed articles and government reports on immigration. Conclusions: The prevalence of hearing loss in the United States is underestimated when considering undetected hearing loss in immigrant children. The addition of the immigrant children from only Mexico and China presents a 7.5% increase in the total number of children in the United States with hearing loss. This reinforces the importance of early detection of hearing loss in these children, resulting in more accurate estimation of the rate of childhood hearing loss in the United States and better planning for intervention programs. © American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

hearing loss Children Audiology Cultural and linguistic diversity

China human statistics and numerical data comparative study newborn screening ethnology Mexico hearing loss Cross-Sectional Studies United States cross-sectional study migrant Humans Adolescent Infant, Newborn male Emigrants and Immigrants preschool child female Infant Child, Preschool newborn Neonatal Screening early diagnosis Child