Background and Aim: Auditory lateralization is a binaural phenomenon that is the result of processing of interaural time and intensity cues in the central auditory system. The main advantage of this phenomenon in human is understanding speech in noisy environments due to the auditory sciene analysis and cocktail party effects . The aim of the present study was to assess the auditory lateralization ability in normal children.

Methods: Participants were 80 normal school age children (8-11 years) of both genders, 42 girls and 38 boys. Lateralization functions were determined by interaural time difference (ITD) ranging from -880 to +880 µs and interaural intensity difference (IID) ranging from -10 to +10 dB for high-pass and low-pass noise.

Results: Interaural intensity difference lateralization functions were linear , while the interaural time difference lateralization functions were S-shaped with a clear linear component from -220 to +220 µs and with an asymptote from -440 to -880 µs and +440 to +880 µs. Generally, interaural intensity difference errors were significantly less than interaural time difference tasks (p<0.0001). Age effect was only present in interaural time difference tasks (p=0.001).

Conclusion: According to these results, children with the age of 11 years performed better in lateralization using interaural time difference cues compared to other children whereas there was no difference in performance in all ages when using interaural intensity difference cues.

Background and Aim: The cochlea and vestibule are related developmentally. Therefore individuals with severe to profound sensourineural hearing loss have additional risk for vestibular dysfunction. The aim of this study was to assess saccular function using vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) in children with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) who are candidates for cochlear implant.

Methods: Thirty children (17 males and 13 females) with bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in the age range of 3-15 years participated in this study. 17 children (9 males and 8 females) with normal hearing in the age range of 3-13 years participated as the control group. All children in each group were evaluated for saccular function by performing vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials in both ears.

Results: Comparison of mean threshold values between the two groups revealed statistically significant difference (p<0.05). In addition, comparison of mean amplitude values between the two groups revealed statistically significant difference (p<0.05). However, comparison of p1 3 and n23 latency values between the two groups revealed no significant difference (p>0.05). Out of the 30 children with bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss eight children (26.66%) had absent VEMP responses in both ears.

Conclusion: Children with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss who are candidates for cochlear implant ha d more potential for saccular abnormalities compared to normal-hearing children. Therefore, assessment of vestibular function is very important in this population.

Background and Aim: Universal newborn hearing screening program (UNHS) using otoacoustic emission (OAE) has been expanded dramatically. The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics of OAE in different time periods.

Methods: In this cohort study, 54 well babies were tested using screening transient-evoked otoacoustic emission in 12, 24, 36, 48 hours and 1 week of their age in Tamin Ejtemaii hospital of Zahedan, Iran. Parameters of "pass" and "fail" level, duration of the test, repetition rate for getting definite result and cooperation level of the parents were analyzed.

Results: The failing rate decreased markedly with age. The major part of this decrement concerned to the age of 12 to 24 hours (left ear: p=0.012 and right ear: p=0.057). Only for the age of 12 hours, the test repetition reduced the failing rate significantly (left ear: p=0.001 and right ear: p<0.001). The test duration reduced significantly with age increment and decreased from the 75 second in age 12 hours to 21 second in age of 24 hours. The test time median for 36, 48 hours and one week of age was 13, 8.4 and 14.3 second, respectively. Among the 54 parents requested to come back for retest one week later, 5 (9.3%) cooperated.

Conclusion: Age effect on referral rate were confirmed in this study high referral rate and poor parent cooperation were the main problems in universal newborn hearing screening program in Zahedan city.

Background and Aim: Hearing impairment is one of the most stressful disabilities. The mental health of parents caring for children with hearing impairment is at risk. Therefore, technical support and intervention are very valuable for these families. These services are also useful for children’s development. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of social work services on the social adjustment of parents of children with hearing impairment.

Methods: In this study, 37 parents of children with hearing impairment were selected as the sample population. Interviews and case studies were conducted to determine whether the parents were receiving social work services. The social adjustment scale was used to assess parents’ social adjustment. Analysis of variance (F) was used to analyze the data and information obtained from parents.

Results: Data analysis showed that there is a significant difference between parents who had received social work services and parents who had not received social work services (p<0.001).

Conclusion: According to the obtained results, parents who had received social work services experienced higher social adjustment. It can be said that providing assistance to parents of children with hearing impairment can improve their social integration.

Background and Aim: Grammatical skills development of hearing-impaired children depends on using appropriate educational rehabilitation programs. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of linguistic plays on the grammatical skills in hearing-impaired children with hearing aids.

Methods: Ten hearing-impaired children with hearing aids, aged between 5 and 7, were randomly assigned to two groups (5 children in each group). Each treatment group received 12 sessions on linguistic plays. The grammatical skills of these children were evaluated via the TOLD-P: 3 (Persian version) in addition, their level of intelligence was assessed by the Raven test.

Results: The difference between the scores of both control and treatment groups revealed a statistically significant difference in grammatical skills (t=7.61, p=0.001) and three subskills of the children who participated in the linguistic plays. These subskills include syntactic understanding (t=3.16, p=0.013), sentence imitation (t=1.71, p=0.006), and morphological completion (t=6.55, p=0.001). In other words, the findings suggest that linguistic plays have a significant impact on the improvement of the aforementioned skills in hearing-impaired children.

Conclusion: Results suggest that it would be beneficial to include linguistic plays as part of routine rehabilitation programs as a means of improving the grammatical difficulties of children. After partaking in linguistic plays, children significantly improved their ability to comprehend the meaning of sentences and also to recognize, understand, and use common Persian morphological forms.

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.

Background and Aim: Phonological awareness (consisting of phoneme, syllable and intra-syllable awareness) is an important part of receptive and expressive language it facilitates reading and writing skills through phonological re-coding. Multiple studies in several languages have studied the relationship between phonological awareness and dictation. This research is based on a study of the relationship between phonological skill and spelling score in first-grade Persian students.

Methods: Four hundred first-grade students participated in the study, including 209 girls and 191 boys. A phonological awareness test was individually administered for each student and then a spelling exam was administered in groups. The correlation between the two tests was studied using a simple regression model. The comparison of mean scores of girls and boys was evaluated employing an independent t-test.

Results: A correlation coefficient of 0.82 was obtained between phonological awareness and spelling proficiency (p<0.001). Phonological skill sub-tests also showed a significant correlation with spelling proficiency (highest for phoneme awareness r=0.34 and lowest for rhyme awareness r=0.12). The mean scores of girls and boys differed significantly (p<0.05).

Conclusion: There is a strong positive association between phonological awareness and spelling proficiency. Therefore, if phonological skill is improved, spelling score can be enhanced.

Background and Aim: Empathy is a basic human skill that is important in daily life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of the theory of mind in predicting empathy.

Methods: This study adopted a causal-comparative design. 40 students with profound hearing impairment and 40 students with normal hearing, aged between 8 and 14, participated in the study. Instruments including false belief tasks and empathy questionnaires were distributed to the participants. For multivariate analysis of variance, a correlation analysis and multiple regression methods were used.

Results: Results indicated a significant difference between the total score of false belief tasks and empathy in students with hearing impairment and those with normal hearing (p<0.001 ). A significant relationship between the theory of mind and empathy was found in both groups (p<0.01). Also theory of mind could predict the empathy (p=0.001).

Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, significant reduction in the theory of mind and empathy was seen in students with hearing impairment. Therefore, training programs that focus on social skills are required for students with hearing impairment in order to address this problem. Moreover, training materials need to be tailored to their cognitive understanding.

Background and Aim: Music exists in all cultures many scientists are seeking to understand how music effects cognitive development such as comprehension, memory, and reading skills. More recently, a considerable number of neuroscience studies on music have been developed. This study aimed to investigate the effects of null and positive background music in comparison with silence on auditory-verbal memory performance.

Methods: Forty young adults (male and female) with normal hearing, aged between 18 and 26, participated in this comparative-analysis study. An auditory and speech evaluation was conducted in order to investigate the effects of background music on working memory. Subsequently, the Rey auditory-verbal learning test was performed for three conditions: silence, positive, and null music.

Results: The mean score of the Rey auditory-verbal learning test in silence condition was higher than the positive music condition (p=0.003) and the null music condition (p=0.01). The tests results did not reveal any gender differences.

Conclusion: It seems that the presence of competitive music (positive and null music) and the orientation of auditory attention have negative effects on the performance of verbal working memory. It is possibly owing to the intervention of music with verbal information processing in the brain.

Background and Aim: Although double dichotic digit test is a useful tool for assessing the central auditory system in adults, it is more useful for evaluating younger children. The present study aimed to develop the Persian version of the single dichotic digit test and to obtain initial normative data.

Methods: The Persian version of the present test consisted of three different sets of 25 single digit pairs for testing in the free recall, directed recall to right, and directed recall to left conditions. The digits in each list were recorded dichotically on a compact disc. The sectional study was performed on 126 male students, aged between 7 and 9. The test-retest reliability was assessed in 29 subjects two to four weeks after the first test session.

Results: In seven year olds, the mean right and left ear scores increased from around 95.79% and 89.69%, respectively. In eight year olds, the mean right and left ear scores increased from around 98.59% and 96.29%, respectively. The mean right ear advantage decreased from around 6.13% in 7 year olds to around 2% in 8 year olds (p=0.001). No significant difference was found in scores between the free recall and directed recall conditions (p>0.05). The test had a high test-retest reliability (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The Persian version of the test has a high test-retest reliability for evaluating male children aged between 7 and 9 it can be used for assessing binaural integration in male children of this age group.

Background and Aim: Students with hearing impairment show delayed development of theory of mind (ToM) compared with normal children. One factor impacting development of theory of mind is parent-child interaction. The present study investigated the relationship between maternal emotional intelligence and theory of mind in students with hearing impairment.

Methods: The present study employed correlational research. 40 students with profound hearing impairment (age range: 8-14 years) and their mothers were selected to participate. Measurement instruments included the false belief task and emotional intelligence questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by mothers. Correlational analysis and multiple regression methods were used for data analysis.

Results: Results indicated no significant correlation between the total score on false belief task and the emotional intelligence score and its components (p>0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that maternal emotional intelligence and its components cannot predict student's scores in false belief tasks (p>0.01).

Conclusion: The results show that there is no significant correlation between maternal emotional intelligence and theory of mind in students with hearing impairment. Therefore, maternal emotional intelligence cannot predict the development of theory of mind in students with hearing impairment.

Background and Aim: School-aged children with borderline intelligence quotient (IQ) have different comprehension and narrative skills compared with normal children. This research compared dysfluencies and story comprehension of these students with normal students.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 30 students with borderline intelligence quotient and 25 normal students were compared. Stratified random sampling was used for selection of students. Picture-elicited narrative and comprehension tests were used to study students. The Mann-Whitney U test and the analysis of covariance Spearman correlation test were used for data analysis.

Results: Students with borderline intelligence quotient produced word dysfluencies and phrasal nonfluencies more than normal students (p=0.005, p=0.01, respectively). They also performed more poorly in story comprehension (p=0.002). There was a significant association between phrasal disfluency and story comprehension (r=-0.21).

Conclusion: Students with borderline intelligence quotient show more dysfluencies in narration and are weaker in story comprehension. There are negative associations between phrasal disfluency and story comprehension.

Background and Aim: Deaf children face many psychological problems due to their inability to hear. The present study investigates the effectiveness of art therapy (painting) in reducing the hopelessness and solitude experienced by these children.

Methods: An experimental design with pre- and post-testing and a control group was used. Multi-stage method was used for selecting 30 children with hearing impairment (age range: 7-10 years) from Isfahan. Subjects were randomly appointed to experimental and control groups. Data was collected using Kazdin hopelessness scale and Asher solitude scale. Analysis of covariance statistical method was used to analyze the data.

Results: Findings indicated a significant difference between feelings of hopelessness and solitude of deaf children in experimental and control groups (p<0.001).

Conclusion: From these findings it can be concluded that art therapy decreases the rate of hopelessness and solitude in deaf children and can be applied as an educational and therapeutic method.

Background and Aim: Conversational repair skills are essential for establishing mutually successful verbal communication. Cognitive and linguistic disorders can have negative effects on these skills. Children with hearing loss have special cognitive and linguistic issues. This study was performed to contribute to the paucity of data on conversational repair strategies used by hearing impaired children.

Methods: The participants included 58 children with moderate hearing loss (38 boys and 20 girls) aged 6 to 7 from Ahvaz city. A cross-sectional study design was used. Frequency of using different types of repair strategies in ten repair situations was calculated. Scores of intelligence, memory, word finding, lexical richness, and mean length of sentences was obtained through cognitive-linguistic tests. Data was analyzed employing an independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and logistic regression.

Results: A direct correlation was observed between clarification strategy and communicative social intelligence (p=0.045). A direct correlation was observed between applying different types of conversational repair strategies and linguistic abilities in children with moderate hearing loss (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Children with moderate hearing loss (age: 6-7 years) use repetition more than any other strategy to repair conversation. One unit increase in word finding ability or in mean length of sentence predicts one unit increase in the degree of using repetition strategy.

Background and Aim: Research indicates that impaired hearing is one of the most stressful disabilities. The parenting stress involved could lead to family malfunction and improper parenting. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of positive parenting programs on the parenting stress of mothers with impaired hearing children.

Methods: The statistical population comprised mothers of all 7-12-year-old impaired hearing children in Tehran city. Thereafter, using the random sampling method, 24 individuals were shortlisted as research participants and were randomly assigned to two groups: control and experimental. The experimental group was trained with a positive parenting program based on the Sanders program (1993) over eight sessions. The measurement instrument was the Abidin parenting stress questionnaire.

Results: The mean score for grades in the experimental groups’ parent and child domains at the pre- and post-test stages had reduced more than that in the control group. In addition, the results of a multivariate covariance analysis indicated that positive parenting training was effective in the reduction of parenting stress scores, reinforcement, and child mood components in the child domain, and in the feelings of competence, relationships with the spouse, and role limitation components (p<0.05) in the parent domain.

Conclusion : Considering the benefits of training parents for the reduction of parenting stress of mothers with impaired hearing children, this method is recommended in all learning centers for the deaf.

Background and Aim: Deaf children face several compatibility issues because of their hearing impairment. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of psychodrama using pantomime on the social adjustment of 12-15-year-old deaf female students in Isfahan.

Methods: For this study, an experimental design was used with a pre-test and post-test and a control group. Thirty deaf subjects (12-15-year-olds) in Isfahan were selected randomly and allocated to experimental and control groups. To gather information, Rao’s Social Maturity Scale was used. The data were analyzed by the multivariate analysis of covariance s tatistical method (SPSS version 21).

Results: Our findings revealed that there was a significant difference between the performances of deaf students of both the groups in the post-test on social adjustment (p=0.0001).

Conclusion: The use of psychodrama increased the rate of social adjustment in deaf students.

Background and Aim: Clinicians and researchers always need standard measures for the evaluation of auditory perception and speech production in deaf children, particularly those with cochlear implants. This study addresses the reliability and validity of the Persian version of categorization of auditory performance (CAP) scale and speech intelligibility rating (SIR) in cochlear-implanted prelingual deaf children.

Methods: A total of 92 cochlear-implanted deaf children aged 1.3-15.7 years participated in the study. Test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and criterion and construct validity of the scales were investigated.

Results: The obtained test-retest reliability for categorization of the auditory performance scale and speech intelligibility rating was 0.82 and 0.99 (p<0.01), respectively, whereas the suggested inter-rater reliability based on average Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.73 and 0.70 for the two scales (p<0.01), which appear acceptable. The concurrent validity of the scales was 0.64 and 0.69 (p<0.01). The construct validity for categorization of the auditory performance scale ranged between 0.58 and 0.74 (p<0.01), whereas the same feature for the speech intelligibility rating indicated a range between 0.66 and 0.69 (p<0.01).

Conclusion: The findings of this investigation indicated that both CAPII and SIR scales are reliable and valid instruments for the assessment of auditory perception and speech production of cochlear-implant deaf children.

Background and Aims: The dichotic listening subtest is considered as an important component of the test battery for auditory processing assessment in both children and adults. A randomized dichotic digits test (RDDT) was created to compensate for sensitivity weakness of double digits when detecting abnormal ear asymmetry during dichotic listening. The aim of this study was the development and initial evaluation of the Persian randomized dichotic digits test.

Method: Persian digits 1-10 (except for the bisyllabic digit, 4) uttered by a native Persian language speaker were recorded in a studio. After alignment of intensity and temporal characteristics of digit waveforms, lists 1 and 2 of the RDDT were reproduced. List 1 of the test was administered at 55 dBHL on 50 right-handed normal hearing individuals (with an equal sex ratio) in the age group of 18-25 years and hearing thresholds of 15 dBHL or better in audiometric frequencies.

Results: Mean (standard deviation) percent-correct score for right and left ears and right ear advantage of the subjects was 94.3 (5.3), 84.8 (7.7), and 9.5 (7.0) percent, respectively. Sixty percent of the subjects showed normal results and unilateral and bilateral deficits were seen in 24 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Conclusion: It seems the Persian version of RDDT is the same as the original test as it is able to test ear asymmetry , unilateral and bilateral deficits in dichotic listening.

Background and Aim: Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the elderly using a hearing aid to alleviate auditory impairment can positively affect their quality of life. This research aimed to determine the level of satisfaction concerning hearing aids in elderly people with hearing impairment based on the type and degree of hearing loss.

Methods: An analytic cross-sectional research design was used the sample included 40 elderly people who used hearing aids. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) age classification, participants were divided into two age groups: 65-74 years (n=20) and 75-90 years (n=20). Satisfaction levels were assessed using a standard satisfaction with amplification in daily life (SADL) questionnaire.

Results: Satisfaction levels in the 65-74 age group were significantly higher than that in the 75-90 age group (p=0.02). Participants with mixed hearing loss revealed higher satisfaction levels than participants with sensorineural hearing loss (p=0.02). On the negative effects dimension, participants with severe hearing loss exhibited significantly higher satisfaction levels than participants with moderate or moderate to severe hearing loss (p=0.01).

Conclusion: Total satisfaction mean scores were relatively high in the elderly participants . Negative features could be reduced via careful consultation regarding the aids’ amplifying capabilities and limitations in groups with moderate or moderate to severe hearing loss.

Background and Aim: The hearing defects in deaf and hearing-impaired students also affect their cognitive skills such as memory in addition to communication skills. Hence, the aim of this study was to compare visual working memory in deaf and hearing-impaired students with that in normal counterparts.

Method: In the present study, which was a causal-comparative study using the André Rey test, 30 deaf and 30 hearing-impaired students were compared with 30 students in a normal group, and they were matched based on gender, intelligence, educational grade, and socioeconomic status.

Findings: Findings show that there is significant difference between the three groups’ subjects (p<0.05). The average of the normal group was more than that of the other two groups. However, the difference between the two auditory impaired groups was not significant (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Function of deaf or hard-of-hearing students in the visual working memory task was weaker in comparison with the normal counterparts, while the two deaf and hard-of-hearing groups have similar functions. With a better identification and understanding of the factors that affect the development of this cognitive ability, we can offer new methods of teaching and reduce many of the disadvantages of this group of people in the different fields of cognitive science.