Portuguese live captions and productivity tool for doctor appointments

Hearing loss affects approximately 5.2% of Brazil's population by self-report — and 30.4% among older adults — according to a population-based PMC study. The incidence of congenital hearing loss is estimated at 4 per 1,000 births. Despite these numbers, epidemiological data on hearing loss in Brazil remain limited, largely self-reported, and almost certainly underestimate the true burden. A 2022 study published in PMC found that structural factors including 'unequal access to hearing healthcare services, limited coverage of early diagnosis, restricted availability of rehabilitation, and the absence of systematic population-based screening strategies' define the Brazilian landscape.

The Brazilian public health system (SUS) has offered cochlear implant surgery since 1993 and issued successive regulations to standardize hearing rehabilitation — but access remains highly unequal across regions. The North and Northeast, where poverty rates are highest, have substantially fewer audiological centres per capita than São Paulo and the South. Private hearing healthcare in Brazil is expensive by local income standards, and most health insurance plans provide limited or no coverage for hearing aids or auditory rehabilitation.

In clinical settings, LIBRAS (Língua Brasileira de Sinais) has been a recognised language in Brazil since 2002, but interpreter provision in healthcare settings is inconsistent and rarely available at short notice for a standard outpatient appointment. Deaf patients routinely rely on written notes, family members, or approximation during medical consultations. Captio AI captions Brazilian Portuguese in real time — across SUS informal speech and private specialist formal register — so a deaf patient can follow their own appointment and leave with a clear record of what was said.