Background and Aim: Risk factors including asphyxia , meningitis , form of delivery, etc. may cause hearing loss in neonates results in speech and language deprivation , emotional and educational problems. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hearing loss and its relationship with risk factors among neonates hospitalized in neonate intensive care unit (NICU).
Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study on 234 NICU hospitalized neonates in Ghaem and Imam-Reza hospitals of Mashhad. Epidemiologic and pathologic information were obtained. Otoacoustic emissions were done in all of neonates. Patients referred to the second otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) and patients failed in the second test controlled by auditory brainstem response (ABR).
Results: Hearing abnormality was found in 11 neonates (4.7%) including 2 girls and 9 boys.   (1 neonate with mild, 2 with mild to moderate, 2 with moderate to severe, 1 with sever to profound hearing loss and 4 with auditory neuropathy). Hearing abnormality has a significant greater incidence in group with apgar £5 and in patients with icterus (in need with transfusion).
Conclusion: Incidence of hearing loss in NICU hospitalized neonates are greater in comparison with general population. It has a greater incidence in group with icterus (in need with transfusion) and apgar £5,so,a comprehensive hearing screening program must be applied for early identification and intervention.

Background and Aim: Some children with speech sound disorder (SSD) have difficulty with phonological awareness skills therefore, the purpose of this study was to survey the correlation between phonological processes and phonological awareness.

Methods: Twenty-one children with speech sound disorder, aged between 5 and 6, participated in this cross-sectional study. They were recruited from speech therapy clinics at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. They were selected using the convenience sampling method . Language, speech sound, and phonological awareness skills were investigated by the test of language development-third edition (TOLD-3), the Persian diagnostic evaluation articulation and phonology test, and the phonological awareness test. Both Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlations were used to analyze the data.

Results: There was a significant correlation between the atypical phonological processes and alliteration awareness (p=0.005), rhyme awareness (p=0.009), blending phonemes (p=0.006), identification of words with the same initial phoneme (p=0.007), and identification of words with the same final phoneme (p=0.007). Analyzing the correlation on the basis of the phoneme and syllable structure separately showed there was a significant correlation between the atypical phoneme structure and alliteration awareness (p=0.001), rhyme awareness (p=0.008), blending phonemes (p=0.029), identification of words with the same initial phoneme (p=0.007), and identification of words with the same final phoneme (p=0.003).

Conclusion: Results revealed a relationship between phonological processes and phonological awareness in children with speech sound disorder. Poor phonological awareness was associated with atypical phonological processes especially at the phoneme level.