{"id":155579,"date":"2026-09-29T08:55:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=155579"},"modified":"2026-09-25T13:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T17:49:33","slug":"the-quietest-place-on-ucfs-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/the-quietest-place-on-ucfs-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"The Quietest Place on UCF’s Campus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine standing in a room where the only sounds are the ones you make. There\u2019s no rumble from cars in the distance, no murmurs of conversations from the hallway, no hum from the air conditioner. Even your own voice, footsteps and shifts are sharper, sans the usual reverberations that accompany them. Here, the sounds you make don\u2019t reflect like they would in a normal room.<\/p>\n

Welcome to UCF\u2019s  anechoic chamber.<\/p>\n

Located in the UCF Innovative Center, the 217-square-foot chamber is not big by any means \u2014 but the impact it will play in understanding and improving hearing certainly is.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnechoic chambers are designed to do two things: to keep outside sound outside and to absorb reflected sound inside,\u201d says Pavel Zahorik, professor of communication sciences and disorders<\/a>. \u201cThis allows us to make acoustical measurements that are highly accurate and precise, by limiting background noise and reflected sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Precision is critical in Zahorik\u2019s research<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An expert in hearing devices and technologies, hearing science and psychoacoustics, he\u2019s part of UCF\u2019s growing Communication Technologies Research Center<\/a>, which in just two years ago has attracted some of the nation\u2019s top hearing scientists to the College of Health Professions and Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the new chamber, Zahorik will focus on improving hearing aids and listening devices, and learning more about how the shape of our ears and heads impacts how we hear.<\/p>\n

Fine-Tuning Tech<\/h2>\n

Hearing loss is far from rare. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), approximately 15% of American adults \u2014 roughly 37.5 million people \u2014 report some trouble hearing. Among adults ages 65 to 74, roughly a third have hearing loss in one or both ears.<\/p>\n

The effects extend well beyond missed conversations. Untreated hearing loss has been linked to higher rates of depression, increased risks of falls and even a greater likelihood of developing dementia.<\/p>\n

By stripping away stray noise, Zahorik can ensure the devices designed to restore hearing are as accurate, effective, and life-changing as possible. To do that, inside of the anechoic chamber, every inch of the walls and ceiling is covered in sound-absorbing foam wedges (that look not unlike oversized monochromatic Monopoly houses) affixed at alternating angels. The floor is a steel mesh grid suspended over a layer of the same wall-to-wall wedges, swallowing stray sound waves before they can ricochet.<\/p>\n

Anechoic derives from the Greek words meaning \u201cwithout echo,\u201d and the chamber delivers just that.<\/p>\n

It may seem like overkill, but for manufacturers developing everything from hearing aids and AirPods to car communication systems, antennas and loudspeakers, quality and consistency depend on this level of acoustic control.<\/p>\n

In fact, the first anechoic chamber was built to improve high-altitude military communication during World War II. Today, they\u2019re used to test everything from telecommunications and aerodynamics to medical devices, including MRI machines and pacemakers.<\/p>\n

The one at UCF brings the distinctive designation of being devoted solely to research human health.<\/p>\n