Modern analysing techniques have also been applied in cough sound studies, and differences in cough sound duration and spectra have been found in pulmonary diseases with different bronchopulmonary pathophysiology. Since the objective assessment of cough is clinically important, automatic cough detectors and counters have been constructed, e.g. to assess the efficacy of antitussive drugs. Also, ambulatory methods for assessment of cough have been reported. This review includes a brief history of cough research and present methods available for objective assessment of cough.