Chapter 6 134 Introduction Locomotive engineers perform a hearing-critical job—just like police officers, firefighters, and many other employees—since they are required to perform auditory tasks that depend on sufficient hearing acuity (Zoer et al., 2014). First, speech communication is required when communicating to the signaller, conductor, and others by answering calls, making announcements, and using communication equipment. Second, the detection of auditory warning signals is needed in case of events that can compromise safety (Zheng et al., 2007).The noisy work environment of a train cabin makes it particularly challenging to perform these auditory tasks, especially when hearing loss is present (Giguère et al., 2008). If an engineer lacks sufficient auditory sensitivity and discriminative power, this may decrease the operational effectiveness. Moreover, it may constitute a safety risk for this engineer, the fellow workers, and the public. If the inability to perform a hearing-critical task can cause inefficiency or safety risks, auditory fitness for job assessments can be performed (Laroche et al., 2008). These hearing assessments must determine if an employee is able to perform the various auditory tasks needed in the job (Tufts et al., 2009). Frequently, auditory fitness for job assessments lack sufficient diagnostic tools to be task and job specific (Tufts et al., 2009). Pure-tone audiometry is often used, although it has been shown to be a poor predictor of functional hearing abilities (Moore, 2007; Tufts et al., 2009). Experience, skill on the job, or the job protocol may allow employees to compensate for the hearing loss (Middelweerd et al., 1990; Soli, 2003). Also, the relationship between pure-tone audiometry in quiet and signal detection in noise might differ betweendifferent signals, depending on the frequencies at which themost prominent signal peaks can be heard (Van der Hoek-Snieders et al., 2021). A number of researchers have therefore developed and validated tests and models to assess the functional ability of speech communication in different workplaces (Goldberg, 2001; Laroche et al., 2008; Laroche et al., 2005; Laroche et al., 2003; Le Prell &Clavier, 2017; Soli, Giguère, et al., 2018). Using conventional hearing-in-noise tests, predictivemodels have been developed to predict speech communication in realworld noises, for example, in the workplace noise of police constables (Laroche et al., 2003). This has resulted in the general recommendation that speech testing in noise should be performed when assessing functional speech communication (Tufts et al.,
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