Development of hearing standards for Ontario’s Constable Selection System
Christian Giguère, Chantal Laroche, Véronique Vaillancourt & Sigfrid D. Soli
Received 04 Dec 2018, Accepted 05 May 2019, Published online: 01 Jun 2019
Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2019.1617438
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Abstract
Objective: Develop valid and defensible hearing standards for Ontario constables to ensure safe and efficient operations.
Design: 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.
Study sample: Three panels of subject matter experts (SMEs) from different Ontario police services participated in Steps 1 and 3.
Result: Fifty-one HC tasks conducted in 25 different environments were identified. Acceptable levels of speech communication in noise were based on environments with the highest frequency, importance and difficulty ratings. The ability to understand soft speech was also deemed critical. These translated into a 2 dB maximum elevation in the Noise Composite speech recognition threshold (SRT) with the Hearing-In-Noise-Test and a threshold in quiet of 35 dBA or better.
Conclusions: Speech communication modelling methodology greatly facilitates the task of developing fitness for duty hearing standards, but participation of SMEs is crucial for face validity.
Keywords: Auditory fitness for duty, occupational hearing screening, speech recognition, noise
Christian Giguère, Chantal Laroche, Véronique Vaillancourt & Sigfrid D. Soli
Received 04 Dec 2018, Accepted 05 May 2019, Published online: 01 Jun 2019
Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2019.1617438
Select Language▼
Translator disclaimer
Abstract
Objective: Develop valid and defensible hearing standards for Ontario constables to ensure safe and efficient operations.
Design: 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.
Study sample: Three panels of subject matter experts (SMEs) from different Ontario police services participated in Steps 1 and 3.
Result: Fifty-one HC tasks conducted in 25 different environments were identified. Acceptable levels of speech communication in noise were based on environments with the highest frequency, importance and difficulty ratings. The ability to understand soft speech was also deemed critical. These translated into a 2 dB maximum elevation in the Noise Composite speech recognition threshold (SRT) with the Hearing-In-Noise-Test and a threshold in quiet of 35 dBA or better.
Conclusions: Speech communication modelling methodology greatly facilitates the task of developing fitness for duty hearing standards, but participation of SMEs is crucial for face validity.
Keywords: Auditory fitness for duty, occupational hearing screening, speech recognition, noise
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