Canadian Researchers say that the skin plays a part in how people hear speech.

A study discovered that inaudible puffs of air delivered alongside certain sounds influenced what participants thought they were listening to.

The team said that the findings showed that audio and visual clues were not the only important factors in how people hear sounds.

The findings may lead to improved aids for the hard of hearing as per the experts. It is very well known already that visual cues from a speaker’s face can enhance or interfere with how a person hears what is being said.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver wanted to look at whether tactile sensations also affected how sounds are heard, in a latest study.

Dr Ralph Holme, director of biomedical research at the deaf and hard of hearing charity, RNID, said: “It is well known that visual cues, like lip reading, can really help people listen to speech if they have a hearing loss. However, some consonants such as b and p or t and d have the same lip pattern.”