Rachel Caissie, PhD

Bio

Dr. Rachel Caissie is an associate professor of audiology in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She obtained an undergraduate degree in psychology (Université de Moncton) and then completed her MSc(A) and PhD in audiology at McGill University in Montreal.

Dr. Caissie has been teaching courses in amplification and adult audiological rehabilitation at Dalhousie University since 1990. Her research interests focus on topics related to audiological rehabilitation in older adults, primarily aimed at improving everyday communication between people with acquired hearing loss and their families and significant others. She is also involved in researching auditory training techniques to help medical students develop better auditory skills to distinguish between abnormal and normal heart murmurs.

Dr. Caissie is the director of the Dalhousie Hearing Aid Assistance Program where donated and/or used hearing aids are fitted on adults who cannot afford them; she supervises graduate audiology students in the fitting of hearing aids and audiological rehabililtation.

Education

• BPs, Psychology, Université de Moncton
• MSc, Audiology, McGill University
• PhD, Auditory-Oral (Re)Habilitation, McGill University

Research interests

• Conversational-fluency
• Conversation repair strategies
• Clear speech for partners of adults with hearing loss
• Auditory training for heart auscultation skills

Teaching

• CMSD 6360: Amplification I
• CMSD 6560: Amplification II
  
• CMSD 6640: Advanced Audiologic Rehabilitation

Selected publications

• Finley, J., Caissie, R., Nicol, P., & Hoyt, B. (2015). International trial of online auditory training programme for distinguishing innocent and pathological murmurs. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 51, 815-819.
• Finbow, J., Bance, M., Aiken, S., Gulliver, M., Verge, J., & Caissie, R. (2015). A comparison between wireless CROS and Bone-Anchored Hearing Devices for single-sided deafness: A pilot study. Otology & Neurotology, 36, 819-825.
• Caissie, R. Finley, J., & Nicol, P. (2015). An auditory training program for the recognition of innocent and pathological heart murmurs. In J. Finley (online edition). Teaching heart auscultation to health professionals. Canadian Pediatric Cardiology Association. [available from www.teachingheartauscultation.com]
• Finley, J., Caissie, R., Nicol, P., Hoyt, B., & MacAuley, D. (2013). Cardiac auscultation can be taught better: New Auditory Training Program teaches students to distinguish innocent and pathological murmurs with 90% accuracy. Dalhousie Medical Journal, 40, 3-5.
• Coolen, J. , Caissie, R., & Aiken, S. (2012). Ethical dilemmas: Are audiologists and hearing aid users on the same side? Canadian Journal of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, 36, 94-105.
  
• Caissie, R. (2011). Auditory training: From speech sounds to heart sounds. In J. Finley (Ed.). Teaching heart auscultation to health professionals. Canadian Pediatric Cardiology Association.
• Caissie, R. Finley, J., & Nicol, P. (2011). An auditory training program for the recognition of innocent and pathological heart murmurs. In J. Finley (Ed.). Teaching heart auscultation to health professionals. Canadian Pediatric Cardiology Association.
• Caissie, R. & Tranquilla, M. (2010). Enhancing conversation fluency: Training conversation partners in the use of clear speech and other strategies. Seminars in Hearing, 31, 95-103.  DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1252101
• Langan, L., Sockalingam, R., Caissie, R., Corsten, G. (2007). Occurrence of Otitis Media and Hearing Loss among First Nations Elementary School Children. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 31, 178-185.
• Caissie, R., Campbell, M., Frenette, W., Scott, L., Howell, I, & Roy, A. (2005). Clear Speech for Adults with Hearing Loss: Does Intervention with Communication Partners Make a Difference? Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 16, 157-171.
• Caissie, R. (2001). Conversational topic shifting and the effect on communication breakdowns for individuals with hearing loss. The Volta Review, 102, 45-56.
• Caissie, R., Dawe, A., Donovan, C., Brooks, H., & MacDonald, S. (1998). Conversational performance of adults with a hearing loss. Journal of the Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology, XXXI, 45-67.
• Caissie, R., & Gibson, C. (1998). The effectiveness of repair strategies used by people with hearing losses and their conversational partners. The Volta Review, 99, 203-218.