Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 3 2017 07 31 1 8 Nastaran Ghotbi Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Alireza Hassanpour Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: The somatosensory system is one of the most effective systems in balance control. It consists of peripheral and central components. Knowing the role of these components in balance control assists the developing of effective rehabilitation protocols. In some diseases peripheral components and in others central components are impaired. This paper reviews the effect of impairment of peripheral and central components of the somatosensory system on balance control. Methods: In this study publication about somatosensory impairments from 1983 through 2011 in PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Google Scholar, Iran Medex, Iran Doc and Magiran were reviewed. Medical subject headings terms and keywords related to balance, somatosensory, somatosensory loss, and sensory integration/processing were used to perform the searches. Conclusion: Somatosensory impairments either with peripheral or central origin, can cause problems in balance control. However, these problems are not considered in some patients. In these impairments, balance training is recommended to be used alongside other routine treatments in the patients' rehabilitation programs. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/473

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 3 2017 07 31 9 17 Farzaneh Zamiri Abdollahi Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Abdolreza Sheibanizadeh Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Jalal Sameni Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: Contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) test evaluates the efferent auditory system. In this test, acoustic reflex is an important confounding variable. In recent years, application of this test is growing especially in children suspect to central auditory processing disorder. Therefore, the magnitude of influence of this confounding variable on the suppression of TEOAEs should be made clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of acoustic reflex on contralateral suppression of TEOAEs. Methods: This research was performed on 39 normal-hearing adults of both sexes and of 18-26 years of age. Tests were used for the determination of interaural attenuation (IA), acoustic reflex, TEOAEs and contralateral suppression of TEOAEs. Results: TEOAEs amplitudes and their contralateral suppression were significantly higher in females and males respectively (p = 0.01). The amount of TEOAEs suppression before reflex activity ranged between 2000 to 3000 Hz. Activation of acoustic reflex significantly increased the magnitude of suppression in all frequency bands (p≤0.01) and maximum suppression occurred in 500 to 1000 Hz. Conclusion: For achieving accuracy of clinical findings, clinicians should always use suppressant levels lower than the acoustic reflex threshold. It is recommended that different norms for males and females be used in contralateral suppression of TEOAEs. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/474

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 3 2017 07 31 18 23 Mohammad Majid Oryadi zanjani Department of Speech therapy, University of Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran Behrooz Mahmoodi Bakhtiari Department of Speech therapy, University of Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran Maryam vahab Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran Salime jafari Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: Due to limitation of standardized tests for Persian-speakers with language disorders, spontaneous language sampling collection is an important part of assessment of language protocol. Therefore, selection of a language sampling method, which will provide information of linguistic competence in a short time, is important. Therefore, in this study, we compared the language samples elicited with picture description and storytelling methods in order to determine the effectiveness of the two methods. Methods: In this study 30 first-grade elementary school girls were selected with simple sampling. To investigate picture description method, we used two illustrated stories with four pictures. Language samples were collected through storytelling by telling a famous children’s story. To determine the effectiveness of these two methods the two indices of duration of sampling and mean length of utterance (MLU) were compared. Results: There was no significant difference between MLU in description and storytelling methods (p>0.05). However, duration of sampling was shorter in the picture description method than the story telling method (p<0.05). Conclusion: Findings show that, the two methods of picture description and storytelling have the same potential in language sampling. Since, picture description method can provide language samples with the same complexity in a shorter time than storytelling, it can be used as a beneficial method for clinical purposes. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/475

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 3 2017 07 31 24 31 Tabassom Azimi Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Sheida Puladi Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Behrooz Mahmoodi Bakhtiari Department of Dramatic Literature, Faculty of Art, University of Tehran, Iran Hamid Haghani Department of Statistics, School of Management and Medical Information, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: Recently, researchers have increasingly turned to study the relation between stuttering and syntactic complexity. This study investigates the effect of syntactic complexity on the amount of speech dysfluency in stuttering Persian-speaking children and adults in conversational speech. The obtained results can pave the way to a better understanding of stuttering in children and adults, and finding more appropriate treatments. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the participants were 15 stuttering adult Persian-speakers, older than 15 years, and 15 stuttering child Persian-speakers of 4-6 years of age. In this study, first a 30 minute sample of the spontaneous speech of the participants was provided. Then the utterances of each person were studied in respect to the amount of dysfluency and syntactic complexity. The obtained information was analyzed using paired samples t-test. Results: In both groups of stuttering children and adults, there was a significant difference between the amount of dysfluency of simple and complex sentences (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that an increase in syntactic complexity in conversational speech, increased the amount of dysfluency in stuttering children and adults. Moreover, as a result of increase of syntactic complexity, dysfluency had a greater increase in stuttering children than stuttering adults. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/476

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 3 2017 07 31 32 39 Maryam Aghamollaei Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Zahra Jafari Department of Basic Sciences in Rehabilitation, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Reyhane Toufan Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Mahdiyeh Esmaili Cochlear Implant Center of Loghmane Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Shadi Rahimzadeh Department of Rehabilitation Management, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences,Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: Auditory memory plays an important role in developing language skills and learning. The aim of the present study was to assess auditory verbal memory and learning performance of 18-30 year old healthy adults using the Persian version of the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was coducted on seventy 18-30 year old healthy females with the mean age of 23.2 years and a standard deviation (SD) of 2.4 years. Different aspects of memory, like immediate recall, delayed recall, recognition, forgetting rate, interference and learning, were assessed using the Persian version of RAVLT. Results: Mean score increased from 8.94 (SD=1.91) on the first trial to 13.70 (SD=1.18) on the fifth trial. Total learning mean score was 12.19 (SD=1.08), and mean learning rate was 4.76. Mean scores of the participants on the delayed recall and recognition trials were 13.47 (SD=1.2), and 14.72 (SD=0.53), respectively. The proactive and retroactive interference scores were 0.86 and 0.96, respectively. The forgetting rate score was 1.01 and the retrieval score was 0.90. Conclusion: The auditory-verbal memory and learning performance of healthy Persian-speaking females was similar to the performance of the same population in other countries. Therefore, the Persian version of RAVLT is valid for assessment of memory function in the Persian-speaking female population. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/477

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 3 2017 07 31 40 50 Sara Momtaz Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Fahimeh Hajiabolhassan Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Saied Farahani Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Mansoureh Togha Department of Neurology, Sina Hospital, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Shohre Jalaie Department of Statistics, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: Neurotologic signs and symptoms, especially vestibular symptoms, are common in migraine patients. The goal of this study was to investigate some parts of the central vestibular system using some subtests of videonystagmographic evaluation, including spontaneous nystagmus, gaze-evoked nystagmus, and smooth pursuit between their attacks of migraine. Methods: Thirty patients with migraine and 38 healthy volunteers of 18-48 years of age were included in this study. Spontaneous nystagmus, gaze-evoked nystagmus toward the right, left and upward, and also smooth pursuit using three different velocities were performed in both groups. Results: Five normal subjects and five migraine patients had spontaneous nystagmus, which was less than three degrees; there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. No gazeevoked nystagmus was seen in both groups. In one velocity of smooth pursuit evaluation, gain and phase were significantly different. The statistical difference in gain and phase was not clinically important as it was in normal range of the device. Another statistically significant parameter was saccadic morphology of smooth pursuit which was seen in migraine patients. Conclusion: These results suggest the presence of subtle otoneurological abnormalities in migraine patients that is probably due to deficiency of oculomotor function with vestibulocerebellar origin. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/479

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 3 2017 07 31 51 61 Salimeh Jafari Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Zahra Agharasouli Department of Linguistics, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran Yahya Modaresi Department of Linguistics, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Kamali Department of Rehabilitation Management, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences,Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: Valid identification, prevention, and treatment of language disorders have a high priority for the clinicians. Story retelling is a method for studying language development which is faster than other procedures in implementing and analyzing, and has a reliable scoring system. The aim of this project is to construct story retelling test for assessing language structure in 6-7 year old, Persian children. Methods: An appropriate story for 6-7 year old children was written by the help of a speech pathologist, a linguist, and a novelist. The validity of the constructed story was checked by 14 experts. Then related pictures were design and their validity was examined. The test was conducted on 72 children (36 girls, 36 boys) of 6-7 years. The reliability was administered with a test-retest design with a two week interval. The reliability of the scoring system was evaluated with inter-rater method. Results: Content validity index for this test was 89%, interclass correlation was 83%, and standard error of measurement was 2.76. The interclass correlation for scoring system was 93% and Pearson’s correlation was 90%. Correlation of the test-retest scores was statistically significant (p<0.01). Conclusion: This story retelling test has appropriate validity and reliability. It is suitable for quick assessment of language structure in 6-7 year old, Persian children. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/480

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 3 2017 07 31 62 69 Marziyeh Moallemi Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Fahimeh Hajiabolhassan Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Jamileh Fatahi Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Mansoureh Togha ge>70 Shahrooz Nemati Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Iran Gholam Ali Afrooz Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Iran Ali Asgari Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Iran Bagher Ghobari Bonab Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Iran 2017 06 13 Background and Aim: Having healthy non-handicapped children plays a major role in mental health of the family and decreases family and society’s costs. While consanguineous marriage could lead to expression of recessive genes and a variety of handicaps including deafness, the aim of present study was to scrutinize the prevalence of consanguineous marriage among parents of deaf and normal children as well as its relationship with deafness. Methods: In this study, 467 couples parenting normal children were selected by cluster sampling from elementary, guidance and high schools of Ardabil city and 423 couples parenting disabled children were selected non-randomly among which 130 had deaf children. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and chi-square test to compare prevalence of consanguineous marriage among parents of normal and deaf children. Results: Descriptive analyses showed that 80 out of 130 (61.54%) parents who had deaf children have had consanguineous marriage. Furthermore data analysis demonstrated that prevalence ofconsanguineous marriage was significantly higher among parents of deaf children (p<0.001). Conclusion: Consanguineous marriage plays a major role in expression of recessive genes and could lead to development of various handicaps including deafness. Increasing couples’ awareness about consequences of consanguineous marriage and conducting genetic counseling are indispensable. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/466

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 2 2017 07 31 71 77 Fatemeh Nikkhou Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Iran Saeid Hasanzadeh Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Iran Gholamali Afrooz Department of Psychology and Education of Exceptional Children, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Iran 2017 06 13 Background and Aim: In different language approaches, reading is considered as a major skill. Language skills comprising listening, speaking, reading and writing are completely interlinked with each other. Thus, providing active application of listening and speaking skills, children will learn reading and writing skills easily. The aim of this research was to compare reading skills of hearing-loss students studying at exceptional schools with normal students of different degrees. Methods: The research was conducted post-traumatically using standardized 2006 PIRLS test. 80 students in fifth grade of exceptional primary schools, and first and fourth grade of exceptional high schools in Tehran City who had severe and or profound hearing loss were randomly selected along with 80 normal students in ordinary schools who were selected using available sampling method. Results: There were significant differences between reading comprehension of hearing-loss and normal students of all three grades (p<0.001). Reading comprehension in female students was significantly higher than the male ones (p<0.001). There were not any significant differences in mean reading comprehension scores of hearing-loss students in different grades which demonstrate that their reading skills had not developed in tandem with their age and school educations. Conclusion: This study shows that one of the significant concerns regarding hearing-loss students is their reading comprehension ability. Considering reading ability as one of the most important acquisitive abilities which students learn at school, evaluation of reading skills of hearing loss students as well as recognition of their strengths and weaknesses in this field is indispensable. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/467

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 2 2017 07 31 78 86 Zahra Jeddi Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Zahra Jafari Department of Rehabilitation Basic Sciences, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Masoud Motasaddi Zarandy Otorhinolaryngology Research Center, Amir-e-Alam Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: Early diagnosis of hearing loss lead to early intervention and improvement of developmental skills of children with hearing loss. The present study aimed to determine the mean age of hearing loss diagnosis and cochlear implantation (CI) in hearing impaired children and to compare the age of performing cochlear implantation in children who were identified by newborn hearing screening with those who were not. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 96 children with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss who received cochlear implantation in Amir-e-Alam cochlear implantation center between the years 2008 and 2010. For data gathering, we assessed subjects’ medical archives, interviewed with their parents and took medical history including demographic information, birth history and hearing loss history. Results: Mean age of hearing loss suspicion, diagnosis, hearing aids administration, Initiation of rehabilitation program, performing cochlear implantation and mean age when cochlear implantation was utilized were 6.73 (SD=5.79), 9.35 (SD=5.79), 13.41 (SD=6.10), 16 (SD=6.36), 41.25 (SD=11.12), and 42.15 (SD=11.00) months, respectively. There was statistically significant difference between them (p<0.05). 43.8% of hearing impaired children had been identified by newborn hearing screening. There was statistically significant difference between cochlear implantation operation age of children who were identified by newborn hearing screening with those who were not (p<0.0001). Conclusion: In spite of notable reduction in the age of hearing loss diagnosis and intervention during recent years, compared to international indices it is still tardy. Conducting newborn hearing screening can significantly reduce these ages. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/470

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 2 2017 07 31 87 95 Zahra Soleymani Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Azar Mehri Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Fereshteh Farzianpour Department of Health Management and Economic, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Ahmad Reza Khatoonabadi Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Mohammad Rahim Shahbodaghi Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Seyyedeh Maryam Khoddami Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Hooshang Dadgar Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Maryam Taghizade Ghe Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran Mahdiye Karimi Department of Speech therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran 2017 06 14 Background and Aim: Internal evaluation is an important part of organization monitoring. One of the Ministry of Health’s policies is to encourage educational departments to conduct internal evaluations. The aim of internal evaluation of department of speech therapy was appraising its education, research and treatment qualities and determining its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOTs) to identify the ways of overcoming weakness and threats. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 phases to evaluate 10 factors. Participants were undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students, academic staff, director of the department along with the patients. The internal evaluation software for educational and research centers released by Center of Medical Education Studies and Development was modified and utilized. Data was analyzed by calculating mean of means. Results: Mean of means from highest to lowest scores were respectively as follows: the quality of diagnosis, treatment and dealing with patients 4.15 out of 5; as well as the quality of academic staff 3.5 were in the range of desirable category; qualities of management and organizational structure 3.34, graduate students 3.21, teaching and learning processes 3.1, missions and goals 3.09, instructional methods and curriculum models 2.99, educational and research equipments 2.9, students 2.76 and research 2.67 were within the range of rather desirable category. Total score was 3.17 (63.4%) which was within the range of rather desirable category. Conclusion: The department of speech therapy was in rather desirable state before merger. That result was appropriate according to the department’s conditions and supplies. https://avr.tums.ac.ir/index.php/avr/article/view/471

Tehran University of Medical Sciences Auditory and Vestibular Research 2423-480X 21 2 2017 07 31 96 108 Nahid Jalilevand Department of Speech therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Tehran Univers