Shortcut:
GA

Home Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania How to edit

Argentina Bahamas Belize Brazil Bolivia Canada Chile Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Mexico Nicaragua Panama Peru Uruguay United States of America

General Information

El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. Spanish is the official language and a very small number of indigenous Pipils speak Nawat. Q'eqchi' is spoken by indigenous immigrants of Guatemalan and Belizean origin living in El Salvador.

History of Audiology

No information located in 2026.

Incidence and Prevalence of Hearing Loss

No information located in 2026.

Information About Audiology

Deaf Education

Education, interpretation, and government protection remains limited for Deaf Salvadorans, limiting employment for Deaf individuals. The primary manual language used in El Salvador is Salvadoran Sign Language (~15,000 signers). Currently, the University of El Salvador and the School of Health and the Pedagogical University of El Salvador have programs teaching Salvadoran Sign Language. Limited use of a regional form of American Sign Language, Costa Rican Sign Language, or home signing is used in rural areas.

As of 2017, there were five Deaf schools in El Salvador, educating ~460 students.^[1] Only one offers education from kindergarten to high school. Most Deaf children are educated in mainstream schools, which lack resources and policies to support students with disabilities such as hearing loss. Therefore, most Deaf children are taught in the Oral/Aural method prohibiting signing and mandated to vocalize. The average education level of Deaf individuals in El Salvador is first grade.^[2]

Development of health services

In March 2025 the World Bank funded a US$120 million project to improve coverage and quality of health services in El Salvador, particularly in vulnerable/rural areas. While the project focuses on primary health care, it will include strengthening of ear and hearing care infrastructure as described in a report from the Panamerican Health Organization (PAHO).

Scope of Practice and Licensing

Scope of practice, licensing requirements and qualification requirements for practicing audiology in El Salvador were developed in partnership with the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association and PAHO through the El Salvador Project. These requirements include:

Proof of a relevant degree in audiology or communication disorders.
Validation of degrees by a Salvadoran university or the Ministry of Education.
Registration and licensing with the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud)

Professionals providing hearing care services

From a survey conducted in 2013^[3] the ear and hearing professionals practicing in El Salvador are as follows:

Otolaryngologist: 75 (1.2 per 100,000)
Audiologist: 5 (.08 per 100,000)
Speech Pathologist: 5 (.08 per 100,000)

Audiological services

The El Salvador public health system lacks the necessary resources for specialized programs, such as early hearing screenings or comprehensive care for children with hearing loss.The lack of a newborn hearing screening program means that most children are not diagnosed soon enough for early intervention services. Children with untreated hearing loss not only face challenges in the development of language and communication skill, but also often can not attend public schools which limit opportunities throughout life. This is worsened by the shortage of trained ear and hearing specialists which limits the availability of treatment and follow-up care.

Services offered by Otolaryngologists

Otological surgeries performed in El Salvador include: myringotomies, ventilation tube placement, tympanoplasties, and mastoidectomy related to cholesteatoma and mastoiditis. While there are qualified professionals to perform these procedures, access to the services are limited due to lack of ENTs relative to the population and the availability of equipment and facilities needed for more advanced surgeries. The Implanted devices and prosthesis are not conducted. Hearing Aids are available through state sources, however, there are not enough resources to provide for populations needs.

Laws related to hearing care services

Newborn Hearing Screening (EHDI)

The Ministry of Health (MINSAL) mandates technical guidelines for early detection of hearing loss in newborns and infants, utilizing auditory screening (Acuerdo-1317). Challenges to the implementation of this policy is the shortage of specialized professionals required for comprehensive coverage. Special Law on Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities (2020): This law (Legislative Decree No. 672) mandates that disability, including hearing impairment, be certified by the Salvadoran Institute of Social Security (ISSS) or the Salvadoran Institute of Integral Rehabilitation (ISRI), particularly for employment rights. This law has faced delays in implementation, particularly regarding the issuance of the Single Disability Card.

Occupational Hearing Safety

Regulations (Chapter V) require employers to manage workplace noise to prevent hearing damage. Occupational health standards mandate that for noise levels over 85 dBA (or over 80 dBA for extended exposure), employers must provide hearing protection, conduct yearly hearing tests, and implement a hearing conservation program.

Education and Professional Practice

Education of professionals working in hearing care services There are 5 medical schools in El Salvador. Annually ~1 physician qualifies in otolaryngology. There is no formal collegiate level training in El Salvador for Audiologists. The Audiologists with graduate level education currently practicing in EL Salvador have received training in other countries such as the United States. Other educational certification programs for ear and hearing professionals exist through Instituto Salvadoreño de Rehabilitación Integral (ISRI) and the Starkey Hearing Institute Latin America. ISRI’s Audiology Center is a training center for capacity-building of personnel in audiology and speech-language pathology as well as providing rehabilitation services in these areas to the population of El Salvador. In 2015, technical assistance as well as the educational resources for training of personnel was created and provided to ISRI by the American Speech Language Hearing Association in partnership with the Panamerican Health Organization.

Professional and Regulatory Bodies

Ministry of Health (MINSAL): Responsible for overall healthcare policy and hospital regulations
National Directorate of Medicines (DNM): Formerly the main regulatory authority (2012-2023) and key to understanding the evolution of device regulations
Superintendency of Sanitary Regulation (SRS): Replaced the DNM in 2024 to centralize the regulation of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and health technologies.

Ongoing audiology research

No information located in 2026.

Challenges, Opportunities and Notes

While no specific information was located for El Salvador, challenges are likely to include limited funding, lack of public awareness, and of qualified personnel for audiological services. These barriers are consistent with challenges from other countries in Latin America. ^[4]

Audiology Charities

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) collaborated to provide technical assistance, training, and capacity-building for audiology professionals through the Instituto Salvadoreño de Rehabilitación Integral (ISRI) through a multi year initiative called “The El Salvador Project”. An Ad Hoc Committee within ASHA led the initiative and was then dissolved in 2015 when all resources that had been created for the project were handed over to ISRI for them to sustain the educational training of audiology and speech professionals.
Hearing the World Foundation: The charitable entity of the Phonak hearing aid company has partnered with local organization Fundación Su Niño No Puede Esperar (FUSNINPE) in El Salvador since 2020 to improve access to hearing services for children. They also supported the establishment and continued operations of newborn hearing screenings in three hospitals. FUSNINPE is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 that provides pediatric hearing services for low income families in El Salvador through professional training, public awareness campaigns, and rural hearing screenings.
Starkey Hearing Foundation: The foundation has funded numerous efforts to El Salvador to evaluate hearing sensitivity and provide hearing aids since its inaugural mission in 1997. In 2025, the Starkey Hearing Institute Latin America was opened in partnership with the Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado. The third of its kind around the world, the Institute aims to create community capacity building for ear and hearing services, as a permanent educational facility to train audiology technicians. Through offers a four-month training program students receive hands-on training in hearing aid fittings, audiological testing, and community-based, comprehensive hearing care.The inaugural graduating class of 29 students completed the program in November 2025 and the 2026 class of 46 students is currently in training.

References

↑ Cornejo Rodríguez, I. M. (2017, October 23). Voces en el silencio: Expresiones y experiencias de estudiantes con discapacidad auditiva en la Universidad de El Salvador, 2015–2017 [Unpublished thesis]. Universidad de El Salvador
↑ Pardo-Demiantschuk, P. (1993). Snapshots from the margin: Women with disabilities in El Salvador. Canadian Woman Studies, 13(4), 31–33.
↑ Wagner, Richard; Fagan, Johan (2013-11). "Survey of Otolaryngology Services in Central America: Need for a Comprehensive Intervention". Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery 149 (5): 674–678. doi:10.1177/0194599813505972. ISSN 0194-5998. https://aao-hnsfjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0194599813505972.
↑ Bhutta, M F (2019-01). "Models of service delivery for ear and hearing care in remote or resource-constrained environments". The Journal of Laryngology & Otology 133 (1): 39–48. doi:10.1017/S0022215118002116. ISSN 0022-2151. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022215118002116/type/journal_article.

External links

		Contributor to the original text
Madison Saunders

[1] Cornejo Rodríguez, I. M. (2017, October 23). Voces en el silencio: Expresiones y experiencias de estudiantes con discapacidad auditiva en la Universidad de El Salvador, 2015–2017 [Unpublished thesis]. Universidad de El Salvador

[2] Pardo-Demiantschuk, P. (1993). Snapshots from the margin: Women with disabilities in El Salvador. Canadian Woman Studies, 13(4), 31–33.

[3] Wagner, Richard; Fagan, Johan (2013-11). "Survey of Otolaryngology Services in Central America: Need for a Comprehensive Intervention". Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery 149 (5): 674–678. doi:10.1177/0194599813505972. ISSN 0194-5998. https://aao-hnsfjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0194599813505972.

[4] Bhutta, M F (2019-01). "Models of service delivery for ear and hearing care in remote or resource-constrained environments". The Journal of Laryngology & Otology 133 (1): 39–48. doi:10.1017/S0022215118002116. ISSN 0022-2151. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022215118002116/type/journal_article.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]