Effect of Hearing and Head Protection on the Localization of Tonal and Broadband Reverse Alarms.

Objective: This study explored the effects of hearing protection devices (HPDs) and head protection on the ability of normal-hearing individuals to localize reverse alarms in background noise.

Background: Among factors potentially contributing to accidents involving heavy vehicles, reverse alarms can be difficult to localize in space, leading to errors in identifying the source of danger. Previous studies have shown that traditional tonal alarms are more difficult to localize than broadband alarms.

[Not Available].

The main purpose of this article is to produce a French-Canadian translation of the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ) scale under the proposed name "échelle COREQ" and to assess the transcultural validity of its content. The secondary purpose is to examine the inter-rater reliability of the French-Canadian version of the COREQ scale. A modified approach to Vallerand's methodology (1989) for cross-cultural validation was used.

Effects of hearing loss and language proficiency on speech intelligibility over radio transmission with tactical communication devices.

Study the effects of hearing loss and language proficiency in a speech task over radio transmission. Four TCAPS device conditions (2 models × 2 talk-through modes) were investigated with the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT) conducted in talker-listener pairs immersed in 85-dBA noise. Speech quality ratings and preferred radio volume levels were also collected.

Development of hearing standards for Ontario's Constable Selection System.

Develop valid and defensible hearing standards for Ontario constables to ensure safe and efficient operations. Research involved three steps: (1) identification of hearing critical (HC) tasks, (2) characterisation of real-world noise environments where these tasks are performed (3) and establishment of screening criteria and protocols for determining fitness for duty. Three panels of subject matter experts (SMEs) from different Ontario police services participated in Steps 1 and 3.

[Not Available].

The main purpose is to produce a French-Canadian translation of the "STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology" (STROBE) Statement under the proposed name of "outil STROBE" and to assess the cross-cultural validity of its content. The secondary purpose is to examine its preliminary interrater reliability. A modified approach to Vallerand's cross-cultural validation methodology was used.

Evidence-Based Occupational Hearing Screening I: Modeling the Effects of Real-World Noise Environments on the Likelihood of Effective Speech Communication.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (1) identify essential hearing-critical job tasks for public safety and law enforcement personnel; (2) determine the locations and real-world noise environments where these tasks are performed; (3) characterize each noise environment in terms of its impact on the likelihood of effective speech communication, considering the effects of different levels of vocal effort, communication distances, and repetition; and (4) use this characterization to define an objective normative reference for evaluating the ability of individuals to perform essential hearing-critical job tasks in noisy real-world environments.

Design: Data from five occupational hearing studies performed over a 17-year period for various public safety agencies were analyzed. In each study, job task analyses by job content experts identified essential hearing-critical tasks and the real-world noise environments where these tasks are performed.

Evidence-based occupational hearing screening II: validation of a screening methodology using measures of functional hearing ability.

Objective: Validate use of the Extended Speech Intelligibility Index (ESII) for prediction of speech intelligibility in non-stationary real-world noise environments. Define a means of using these predictions for objective occupational hearing screening for hearing-critical public safety and law enforcement jobs.

Design: Analyses of predicted and measured speech intelligibility in recordings of real-world noise environments were performed in two studies using speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) and intelligibility measures.

Detection and reaction thresholds for reverse alarms in noise with and without passive hearing protection.

Objective: To measure masked detection and reaction thresholds for two reverse alarms (tonal and broadband) and compare results to available standards and psychoacoustic criteria for setting alarm levels.

Design: Alarm detection and reaction thresholds were adaptively measured in 80-dBA background noises without hearing protection (Experiment 1), and with a passive earmuff-style hearing protection device (HPD) (Experiment 2).

Study Sample: Twenty-four young adults with normal hearing in each experimental group.

[Not Available].

The primary objective was to produce a French-Canadian translation of AMSTAR (a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews) and to examine the validity of the translation's contents. The secondary and tertiary objectives were to assess the inter-rater reliability and factorial construct validity of this French-Canadian version of AMSTAR. A modified approach to Vallerand's methodology (1989) for cross-cultural validation was used.

[Not Available].

Purpose: To prepare a Canadian French translation of the PEDro Scale under the proposed name l'Échelle PEDro, and to examine the validity of its content.

Methods: A modified approach of Vallerand's cross-cultural validation methodology was used, beginning with a parallel back-translation of the PEDro scale by both professional translators and clinical researchers. These versions were reviewed by an initial panel of experts (P1), who then created the first experimental version of l'Échelle PEDro.

The interaction of hearing loss and level-dependent hearing protection on speech recognition in noise.

Objectives: To determine the effects of different control settings of level-dependent hearing protectors on speech recognition performance in interaction with hearing loss.

Design: Controlled laboratory experiment with two level-dependent devices (Peltor® PowerCom Plus™ and Nacre QuietPro®) in two military noises.

Study Sample: Word recognition scores were collected in protected and unprotected conditions for 45 participants grouped into four hearing profile categories ranging from within normal limits to moderate-to-severe hearing loss.

Comparison of sound propagation and perception of three types of backup alarms with regards to worker safety.

A technology of backup alarms based on the use of a broadband signal has recently gained popularity in many countries. In this study, the performance of this broadband technology is compared to that of a conventional tonal alarm and a multi-tone alarm from a worker-safety standpoint. Field measurements of sound pressure level patterns behind heavy vehicles were performed in real work environments and psychoacoustic measurements (sound detection thresholds, equal loudness, perceived urgency and sound localization) were carried out in the laboratory with human subjects.

Evaluation of auditory functions for Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers.

Background: Auditory fitness for duty (AFFD) testing is an important element in an assessment of workers' ability to perform job tasks safely and effectively. Functional hearing is particularly critical to job performance in law enforcement. Most often, assessment is based on pure-tone detection thresholds; however, its validity can be questioned and challenged in court.

Functionally-based screening criteria for hearing-critical jobs based on the Hearing in Noise Test.

Effective communication is a crucial requirement in many workplaces to ensure safe and effective operations. Often, critical verbal communications are carried out in noise, which can be very challenging, particularly for individuals with hearing loss. Diagnostic measures of hearing, such as the audiogram, are not adequate to make accurate predictions of speech intelligibility in real-world environments for specific workers, and thus are not generally suitable as a basis for making employment decisions.

Establishment of age-specific normative data for the canadian French version of the hearing in noise test for children.

Objectives: A Canadian French version of the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) has been developed to assess children's ability to recognize speech in noise. To avoid testing a large number of children in each clinical test site to establish soundfield norms, a protocol based on the use of correction factors has been proposed and validated in the current study. More specifically, the objective of this study was to provide a protocol for the establishment of age-specific normative data for the Canadian French HINT for children to facilitate its clinical use and allow comparing an individual child's performance with that of age-matched normal hearing children.

Adaptation of the HINT (hearing in noise test) for adult Canadian Francophone populations.

The HINT provides an efficient and reliable method of assessing speech intelligibility in quiet and in noise by using an adaptive strategy to measure speech reception thresholds for sentences, thus avoiding ceiling and floor effects that plague traditional measures performed at fixed presentation levels A strong need for such a test within the Canadian Francophone population, led us to develop a French version of the HINT. Here we describe the development of this test. The Canadian French version is composed of 240-recorded sentences, equated for intelligibility, and cast into 12 phonemically balanced 20-sentence lists.