Chantal Laroche

Recently retired, Chantal Laroche was a full professor in the Audiology/Speech-Language Pathology Program at the University of Ottawa from 2002 to 2022. She obtained a Ph.D. in the field of biomedical sciences (Audiology) from the University of Montreal in 1989. After completion of her studies, she became President of her own consulting firm, Sonométric Inc., from 1990 to 1993. She is a recipient of one of the Premier's Research Excellence Award (2000-2005) and has been awarded grants from major agencies (e.g. SSHRC, NSERC, IRSST, NCE), in collaboration with colleagues in Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology, Engineering and Psychology. She has also received contracts from clients such as the Canadian Coast Guard, the Ontario Ministry of Safety and Correctional Services, The Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, DRDC and the RCMP. She has published more than 130 scientific papers in national and international peer reviewed journals or proceedings. She served as an expert-witness in class action suits dealing with environmental noise.

• Noise and communication
• Noise and safety in the workplace
• Effects of environmental noises on health and quality of life
• Development of hearing ability assessment tools
• Localization and perception of warning sounds
• Re-entry into the labour force for people with communication disorders

• Laroche, C., Giguère, C., Vaillancourt, V., Marleau, C., Cadieux, MF, Laprise-Girard, K., Gula, E., Carroll, V., Bibeau. M. (2021) “Effect of Hearing and Head Protection on the Localization of Tonal and Broadband Reverse Alarms”. Human Factors, February 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720821992223
• Giguère, C., Laroche, C., Vaillancourt, V. (2020) Effects of hearing loss and language proficiency on speech intelligibility over radio transmission with tactical communication devices.   International Journal of Audiology, 59 (sup1):S31-S39. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2019.1682691. Epub 2019 Nov 12
• Giguère, C., Laroche, C., Vaillancourt, V., Soli, S.  (2019) Development of Hearing Standards for Ontario’s Constable Selection System.  Clinical Note.  International Journal of Audiology, 58 (11), 798-804.
• Laroche, C., Morasse, D., Boutarfa, L., Giguère, C., Lagacé, J., Vaillancourt, V. (2019) Do different speech-in-noise tests lead to similar outcomes?  Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Sound & Vibration, Montreal, Canada, July 8-11.
• Giguère, C., Laroche, C., Nélisse, H., Vaillancourt, V., Boutin, J.  (2019) The acoustics and psychoacoustics of reverse alarms mounted on mobile equipment. Proceedings published in Noise Control 2019, Janów Podlaski, Poland, May 26-29.
• Laroche, C., Giguère, C., Vaillancourt, V., Bibeau, M., Carroll, V., Gula, E., Nassrallah, F., Nélisse, H., and Boutin, J. (2017). “Effect of personal safety equipment (hearing protection and helmet) on the localization of reverse alarms,” Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem (ICBEN), Zurich, Switzerland, June 18-22.
• Laroche, C., Giguère, C., Vaillancourt, V., Roy, K., Pageot, L-P., Nélisse, H., Ellaham, N., and Nassrallah, F. (2018). “Detection and reaction thresholds for reverse alarms in noise with and without passive hearing protection,” International Journal of Audiology, 57, S51-S60
• Soli, S.D., Giguère, C., Laroche, C., Vaillancourt, V., Dreschler, W.A., Rhebergen, K.S., Harkins, K., Ruckstuhl, M., Ramulu, P., and Meyers, L.S. (2018). “Evidence-based occupational hearing screening I: Modelling the effects of real-world noise environments on the likelihood of effective speech communication,” Ear Hear, 39(3), 436-448.  This paper has been awarded the 2018 Ear and Hearing Editors’ Award.
• Soli, S.D., Amano-Kusumoto, A., Clavier, O., Wilbur, J., Casto, K., Freed, D., Laroche, C., Vaillancourt, V., Giguère, C., Dreschler, W.A., and Rhebergen, K.S. (2018). “Evidence-based occupational hearing screening II: Validation of a screening methodology using measures of functional hearing ability,” International Journal of Audiology, 57, 323-334.
• Vaillancourt, V., Gendron, M., Leroux, T., Laroche, C., Fortier, P., Paré, L., Giguère, C. et Voix, J. (2016)  Utilisation des prothèses auditives en milieu de travail bruyant – Problématique, pratiques courantes et outils utilisés par les professionnels de la santé pour répondre aux besoins des travailleurs, Travail et Santé, 32, 20-25.
• Deshaies, P., Martin, R. Belzile, D., Fortier, P., Laroche, C., Leroux, T., Nélisse, H., Girard,S.A., Arcand, R., Poulin, M. and Picard, M.  (2015) Noise as an explanatory factor in work-related fatality reports.  Noise & Health, 17 (78), 294-299.
• Gasseau, E., Benoît, I., Vaillancourt, V., Laroche, C. (2015) Analyse du rôle de l’orthophoniste dans des cas juridiques au Québec.  Revue canadienne d’orthophonie et d’audiologie, 29(1), 20-38. 
• Giguère, C., Laroche, C., Vaillancourt, V. (2015) The interaction of hearing loss and level-dependent hearing protection on speech recognition in noise. International Journal of Audiology, 54(S1), S9-S18
• Vaillancourt, V., Nélisse, H., Laroche, C., Giguère, C., Boutin, J., Laferrière, P. (2013) Comparison of sound propagation and perception of three types of backup alarms with regards to worker safety.  Noise & Health, 15 (67), 420-436.
• Laroche, C., Vaillancourt, V. Milloy, V., Giguère, C., Roveda, J.-G. (2013) Effet du type de bruit et de la séparation spatiale sur la reconnaissance de la parole mesurée à l’aide du HINT.  Acoustique Canadienne, 41(2), 49-60.