Purpose: To analyze the performance of family health teams toward the suspicion and identification of child hearing loss.
Methods: This is a case study. Data were collected in three focus groups with three family health teams of a health district in the metropolitan area of Recife, Brazil. All data were transcribed and analyzed based on the interview analysis model of condensation of meanings.
Results: The family health professionals investigated made use of some resources to assess child reaction to sound stimuli, but they were mostly unaware of risk indicators for hearing loss and presented doubts about conducting referrals. Regarding child monitoring, the family health professionals reported that the lack of counter-reference by other professionals precludes the effective monitoring of children in the family health units.
Conclusion: Despite their potential in assisting child health, the role of family health teams is still permeated by weaknesses that hinder their performance with respect to hearing health.