Hearing Hub opens

World-class health and education facility at Macquarie University officially opens.

A new national centre bringing together hearing-related researchers and educators from across Australia officially opened this month.

Macquarie University’s Australian Hearing Hub is set to be a global leader in speech, hearing and language research. The facility leverages Macquarie’s extensive international expertise in language sciences and cognitive sciences research, and in clinical research and professional training teams in audiology and speech language pathology.

Woolacotts delivered the structural and civil design and documentation for the project, including the design of a special anechoic (no echo) chamber.

“The design of the anechoic chamber was challenging, as it’s located completely underground and close to the Chatswood to Epping rail line,” said Principal Engineer and Operations Director, Stephen Branch.

“The chamber was constructed from precast concrete, masonry and was isolated from the rest of the building using tuned rubber bearings,” he said.

The head of the Hearing Hub, Professor Janet Greeley, says the federal government estimates that 10 million Australians will suffer some kind of hearing loss by 2050.