Elizabeth Fitzpatrick

Elizabeth Fitzpatrick is a full professor in audiology at the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa and a senior scientist at the CHEO Research Institute.  She joined the University of Ottawa in 2007 and holds a cross-appointment in the Faculty of Medicine.
Professor Fitzpatrick has worked in hearing health for more than 40 years. Before joining the University of Ottawa, she held clinical and management positions at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa and the Central Speech and Hearing Clinic in Winnipeg. Her research and publications cover the spectrum from infants to adults.

Professor Fitzpatrick has held several editorial positions, including editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (2012–16). She serves as a board member with the Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss and is a member of the Canadian Infant Hearing Task Force. In 2021, she received the Honours of the Academy from the Canadian Academy of Audiology.

Professor Fitzpatrick is accepting new students for thesis supervision.

• Epidemiology of childhood hearing loss
• Early intervention practices and outcomes in children with hearing loss
• Cochlear implantation for children and adults, including outcomes in “special populations”
• Services for children and families affected by hearing loss

Early identification and new hearing technologies offer children with hearing loss a better start in the early years. Our Child Hearing Lab is involved with pediatric hearing research, with a focus on intervention practices and outcomes in children across the spectrum of hearing. Current projects include early intervention practices, the consequences of mild bilateral and unilateral hearing loss, cochlear implantation outcomes, and services for children and families. Our research is primarily supported by grants from CIHR and the Consortium national de formation en santé.

Through our research, we aim to transfer new knowledge to families, clinicians, teachers, and decision-makers, to make a positive impact on the lives of children with hearing disorders. Our lab works with an interdisciplinary research group with expertise in audiology, psychology, population health and medicine. Students from the PhD program in Rehabilitation Sciences at uOttawa, as well as students from psychology and medicine, are actively involved in our research.

Elizabeth Fitzpatrick at CHEO Research Institute

See Elizabeth Fitzpatrick’s publications on ResearchGate and Google Scholar.

• Fitzpatrick, E.M., Nassrallah, F., Gaboury, I. et al. (2023). Trajectory of hearing loss in children with unilateral hearing loss. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 11:1149477.
• Fitzpatrick, E.M., Hashem, R.*, Whittingham, J. Nassrallah, F. (May 2023 E-pub). Long-term follow-up of hearing loss that is minimally progressive. International Journal of Audiology, 26:1-9.
• Na, E., Toupin-April, K., Olds, J., Fitzpatrick, E.M. (supervisor). (2023). Cochlear implant decision-making for children with residual hearing: Perspectives of parents. Cochlear Implants International, 24(6), 301-310.
• Pignac, S., Sygal, N. Biglari, M., Olds, J. Fitzpatrick, E.M (supervisor). (In press, Jan 2024). Determining implant candidacy in children with residual hearing: A scoping review. International Journal of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Jan 3:177:111855.
• Na, E., Toupin-April, K., Olds, J., Fitzpatrick, E.M. (supervisor). (2022). Benefits and risks related to cochlear implantation for children with residual hearing: A systematic review. International Journal of Audiology, Dec 16:1-12.
• Fitzpatrick, E.M. Wu, J., Olds, J. Whittingham, J., Nassrallah, F., Gaboury, I., Durieux-Smith, A., Coyle, D.  (2022). Parent-reported stress and child behavior for 4-year-old children with unilateral or mild bilateral hearing loss. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 27, 137-150.
• Fitzpatrick, E.M., Carrier, V., Turgeon, G., Olmstead, T., McAfee, A., Whittingham, J., Schramm, D.  (E-pub, 2022). Benefits of auditory-verbal intervention for adult cochlear implant users: perspectives of users and their coaches. International Journal of Audiology.
• Salatmatmanesh, M., Ramsay, T., Lagacé, J. Sikora, L. Fitzpatrick, E.M. (supervisor) (2022). Pediatric hearing aid use: A systematic review. International Journal of Audiology, 61(1):12-20.
• Na, E., Toupin-April, K., Olds, J., Whittingham, J., Fitzpatrick, E.M. (supervisor). (2022). Clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with cochlear implants who had preoperative residual hearing. International Journal of Audiology, 61(2): 108-118.
• Noll, D., DiFabio, D., Moodie, S., Grandpierre, V., Graham, I. Potter, B. Fitzpatrick, E.M. (supervisor). (2021). Coaching caregivers of children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing: A scoping review. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 26 (4):453-468.
• Vos, B., Noll, D., Whittingham, J., Pigeon, M., Bagatto, M., Fitzpatrick, E.M. (2021). Cytomegalovirus – a risk factor for childhood hearing loss: A systematic review. Ear and Hearing, 42(6):1447-1461.
• Nassrallah, F., Tang, K. Whittingham, J. Sun, H. Fitzpatrick, E.M. (2020). Auditory, social and behavioral skills of children with unilateral/mild hearing loss. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. 25(2), 167-177.
• Fitzpatrick, E.M., McCurdy, L., Whittingham J., Rourke, R., et al. (2020). Hearing loss prevalence and hearing health among school-aged children in the Canadian Arctic. International Journal of Audiology.
• Fitzpatrick, E.M., Nassrallah, F., Vos, B. Whittingham, J., Fitzpatrick, J. (2020). Progressive hearing loss in children with mild bilateral hearing loss. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, (Invited manuscript), 51(1):5-16.
• Fitzpatrick, EM, Coyle, D, Gaboury, I, Durieux-Smith, A, Whittingham, J, Grandpierre, V, Na, E, Salamatmanesh, M. (2019) Service preferences of parents of children with mild bilateral or unilateral hearing loss: A conjoint analysis study. Ear and Hearing. 41, 671-679. (Highlighted in 2019 favorites in Hearing Journal).
• Fitzpatrick, EM, Gaboury I. Coyle, D, et al. (2018). Auditory and language outcomes in children with unilateral hearing loss. Hearing Research, [Epub ahead of print], 2018.
• Barreira-Nielsen C, Fitzpatrick EM, Hashem S, Whittingham J, Barrowman N, Aglipay M. (2016). Progressive hearing loss in early childhood. Ear and Hearing. 37(5), e311-321.
• Fitzpatrick E. M, Hamel C., Stevens A., Pratt M., Moher D., Doucet S. P, Neuss D., Bernstein A., Na E. (2016). Sign language and spoken language for children with hearing loss: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 137(1).

Books authored

• Duncan J, Rhoades EA, Fitzpatrick E.M. (2014). Adolescents with hearing impairment: Auditory (re)habilitation. Oxford University Press.
• Fitzpatrick E.M., Doucet S.P. (2013). Apprendre à écouter et à parler: La communication auditive-verbale chez l'enfant ayant une déficience auditive. University of Ottawa Press.
• Fitzpatrick, E.M. Doucet, S.P. (2013). Pediatric audiologic rehabilitation: From infancy to adolescence. New York, United States: Thieme Medical Publisher.