The Federal Member for Hughes, Jenny Ware, visited the Australian Hearing Hub (AHH) at Wallumattagal Campus on 31 January to learn more about the work being done there.
Formed in 2013, the AHH is an initiative of Macquarie University and was established with the aim of improving the lives of those with hearing loss.
Members include Macquarie, Cochlear Limited, the Federal Government’s hearing services program Hearing Australia and its research arm, National Acoustic Laboratories, and not-for-profits NextSense and The Shepherd Centre.
During the visit, the delegation heard about current research under way at Macquarie University Hearing, visited the AHH member clinics, and had a demonstration of the anechoic chamber, a purpose-built space for testing someone’s hearing under controlled conditions.
Ms Ware became interested in the centre’s work after meeting Macquarie’s Inaugural Cochlear Chair of Hearing Health, Professor Bamini Gopinath, at an event last year.
Professor Gopinath says it is always a pleasure to showcase Macquarie University Hearing and the AHH and its facilities to guests.
“The AHH remains a globally unique proposition, bringing together academic, industry, government and not-for-profit partners, and we are very proud to host it at Macquarie,” she says.
“We discussed the critical issues surrounding the growing prevalence of chronic hearing loss in Australia and its far-reaching consequences, emphasising the urgent need for proactive measures.
“Ms Ware also learnt about the transformative research that is being done at Macquarie University Hearing, including the innovative projects that are providing gold-standard research evidence, and the strategies that aim to address the stigma around hearing loss, and empower both consumers with hearing loss and healthcare providers in Australia to better address hearing health.”
