When Louise Dodd joined Macquarie late last year as project coordinator for the Australian Hearing Hub (AHH), her mandate was to connect its many partners in collaborative activities.
This Saturday 23 August the first Australian Hearing Hub Open House will see this collaboration showcased in a major community event, free for young and old.
As one of the first events for Hearing Awareness Week 2014, The Hon Jillian Skinner MP will open the festivities at midday and staff are encouraged to come and see all that the AHH has to offer.
“Organising a large community event like this is daunting, but the support and collaboration of all the Australian Hearing Hub partners to help bring the event together has been fantastic and made the planning so much easier,” says Louise.
“Since starting work at the Australian Hearing Hub the partners have been very engaged and are keen to support collaboration. There are always lively and energetic conversations when the partners are together at events, committees, seminars and the café.”
The popular Piccolo Me café will be open on Saturday as part of the Open House, alongside a range of free activities, like a jumping castle, face painting and arts and craft activities.
As one in six Australians are impacted by hearing loss, the open house will focus on healthy hearing, with opportunities for the local community to explore the amazing features of the on-campus facilities, arrange free hearing screening tests and a range of other hearing-related services offered within the hub.
Tours of the hub’s amazing anechoic chamber will also give the opportunity to experience this purpose-built room, which is rarely open to the public.
“The sensation of the chamber is very surreal with the absence of any sound. The first time I went in, I felt like I was losing my balance which felt very strange,” says Louise.
Hot topics will be covered in a range of hearing-related talks:
- how to protect your hearing at home, work and play
- The Interactive Ear: Hearing loss and hearing technology made easy
- dealing with child and adolescent anxiety
- key ideas in early language development
- how to help kids with dyslexia/reading difficulties.
Other highlights of the celebration include free hearing screening tests for adults and children (limited spaces and booking on the day is required) and volume safety testing on music players and headphones.
Event details:
When: Saturday 23 August
Time: 12pm – 3pm
Where: The Australian Hearing Hub, 16 University Avenue
Free parking under the building (overflow parking available in W4)
To register, and for more information, see the Australian Hearing Hub website.
An initiative of Macquarie University, the Australian Hearing Hub brings some of the country’s leading hearing and allied health organisations together with one of the country’s leading research universities to collaborate on world-leading research projects. The Australian Hearing Hub is an initiative of the Australian Government being conducted as part of the Education Investment Fund.