Hearing Education Application Research

Solving major hearing health problems

The Hearing Education Application Research (HEAR) Centre uses a multidisciplinary and community-engaged approach to address hearing health challenges that translate into measurable and impactful change.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that over 5% of the world’s population has disabling hearing loss, and estimates that by 2050 this will increase to over 900 million people – or one in every ten people. Half of all cases of hearing loss can be prevented through public health measures.

The HEAR Centre aims to harness a public health approach to hearing loss to tackle two of Australia’s most underserved populations in hearing health: adults and Indigenous Australians.

By taking a community-led, public health approach to gather data, design solutions and educate clinicians, HEAR aims to change the negative impact of hearing loss in Australia and throughout the world.

WHO collaboration

In August 2025, the HEAR Centre was officially designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre.

This prestigious recognition places the centre within an international network supporting the World Health Organization’s programs and initiatives.

The designation highlights the HEAR Centre's global leadership in hearing research, education, and policy development, and strengthens efforts to reduce the impact of hearing loss through evidence-based, public health approaches.

This achievement reflects the dedication and expertise of the centre and partners in advancing hearing health worldwide.

The HEAR Centre is based at the Australian Hearing Hub and is affiliated with Macquarie University Hearing. Professor Catherine McMahon is the inaugural Director and Dr John Newall is the Deputy Director of the HEAR Centre.

Partnerships

Our Director, Professor Catherine McMahon has developed an ongoing relationship with Jilin University in China that has broadened into a partnership centred around delivering a Masters in Audiology program suitable for northern China, cotutelle PhD collaborations, and research collaborations.