Tactile aids, which translate sound waves into vibrations that can be felt by the skin, have been used for decades by people with severe/profound hearing loss to enhance speech/language development and improve speechreading.The development of tactile aids dates from the efforts of Goults and his co-workers in the 1920s Although The power supply was too voluminous and it was difficult to carry specially by children,  it was too huge and heavy to be carried outside the laboratories and its application was restricted to the experimental usage. Nowadays great advances have been performed in producing this instrument and its numerous models is available in markets around the world.

Hearing loss, even when limited to 1 ear, has been indicated as a handicap to communication and learning. Although this does not seem true based on my clinical impressions, there are no objective data available to evaluate, or even infer, what type of hearing loss can become a true handicap to overall academic achievement. Presented herein are findings that imply, although do not prove, the potential academic handicap of unilateral hearing loss. This study prospectively analyzed the audiologic and otologic screening tests in a university over a 9-year period. The University of Tokyo is one of the leading universities in Japan the students examined undoubtedly had academic ability well above average, for the entrance examination is one of the most difficult to pass in Japan. The potential handicap to academic achievement caused by hearing impairment was evaluated by comparing the prevalence of hearing impairment among the study population

Cochlear implant is the result of a great combination and collaboration of engineering and medicine. It is mainly because it has the most conflict with the human nervous system among all prosthesis. Cochlear implant helps a child with profound hearing loss to understand and articulate speech and let an adult person with hearing loss communicate with people by phone. Although these wonderful results could not be seen in all patients, will let us know about the great scientific findings.

Background and Aim: Although the ability of speech perception has been improved in implanted subjects with recent progress in technology, cochlear implantation alone is not enough and more aural rehabilitation is necessary. The aim of this study was to assess improvement of speech perception in children with cochlear implant.
Methods: Fourteen cochlear implanted children with a mean age of 5.5 years participated in this study. Auditory training was performed in 10 to 43 sessions. Speech recognition and perception were evaluated every 3 months. Third evaluation was done only for 4 patients.
Results: Mean total score of the first evaluation was 43.21%, of the second was 63.76%, and of the third evaluation was 78%. All children obtained complete score for sound awareness at the first evaluation. In environmental sounds discrimination, 71.3%, 84.36%, and 100% answered completely to the questions of three evaluations respectively. In speech sounds discrimination, 34.7% in the first, 57.04% in the second, and 85% in the third evaluation obtained the complete score, and in auditory memory, complete responses were 21% for the first, 57.12% for the second, and 83% for third evaluation. In story rephrasing and comprehension, no one answered to questions completely. However, 12.83% obtained the complete score in the second and third evaluations. There were statistically significant differences between the first and the second evaluation (p=0.002(.
Conclusion: Sound awareness ability seems to be achieved rapidly. Development of speech and environmental sound discrimination abilities, particularly speech comprehension which is the most important skill, need more impressive training.

Background and Aim: The current study has been designed based on the framework of the Stress Deafness Model (SDM), and aims at investigating native listeners&apos general perceptual sensitivity to the acoustic correlates of stress in Persian, a language with predictable stress. According to SDM, more regularity in a language implies poorer perceptual sensitivity of its native speakers, as regular stress patterns will not require lexical encoding.
Methods: The experiment was a modified method of adjustment task where subjects had to simulate stimuli played to them. A total of thirty five Persian speakers took part in the experiment and were placed in three groups based on their linguistic background. In addition to overall perceptual sensitivity, the effect of exposure to English and phonetic knowledge were also tested.
Results: Persian speakers showed a weak perception of stress correlates. It was found, however, that exposure to English will improve stress deafness among Persian natives (p<0.0001). However, the results failed to show any significant effect by phonetic knowledge. It was also shown that the duration had the most erroneous perception by participants (p=0.0001), while there was no statistically significant difference between understanding fundamental frequency clues and intensity perception by listeners.
Conclusion: Since Persian speakers showed an overall weak perception of stress correlates, the results support the predictions made by SDM.

Background and Aim: Setting of candidates for a word with similar beginnings is known as the Cohort size. Despite the importance of the number and properties of candidates in word recognition, so far, in none of the tests made for Persian language, the Cohort size is considered. The purpose of current study was the introduction of importance of Cohort size in word recognition and calculation of Cohort size for the list of Persian high-frequency spondee words.

Methods: The spondee words extracted from high-frequency Persian word store. Then, total spondee words with same first syllable in Amid Persian dictionary recorded and Cohort size calculated for each spondee word. Thus, the list of high-frequency spondee words with their Cohort size composed of 4121 words obtained.

Results: The Cohort sizes of word had a wide range from 0 to 87. In the half of the words, the Cohort sizes were less than 14 and in the rest were more than it.

Conclusion: The Cohort size affects the time course and precision of decision making about words. Persian words are not equal in Cohort size. For having more controlled test materials to develop and design different types of auditory tests, it is possible to consider the Cohort size of words along other effective factors.