ENT surgeon DR SHERRYL WAGSTAFF chose ADF Industries to design, manufacture and install an audiometric room in her private clinic. She couldn’t be happier with the result.
Word of mouth recommendations from someone you know and trust are usually the most valuable. That was definitely the case for Melbourne ENT surgeon Dr Sherryl Wagstaff, who took a colleague’s advice when it came to arranging an audiometric room for her new clinic.
Dr Wagstaff graduated 25 years ago and despite a long and successful career in otolaryngology, had never arranged installation of an audio room. When she needed one for her new clinic, Adeney Clinic in Kew, she decided to investigate properly.
She researched online, asked an acoustic engineer friend for recommendations and met with people from several companies who came to look at the space.
But it was a recommendation by a colleague from Neurosensory – a specialist hearing aid company – that led her to ADF Industries and its managing director, Mr Jono Davies, who has decades of experience in the audiometric rooms’ field.
“Neurosensory had high-quality booths and a company it used in Queensland suggested I contact ADF,” Dr Wagstaff recalls. “They recommended Jono to me and from the moment I spoke to him, I knew he was the person for the job.
“He was extremely knowledgeable – has exceptional knowledge of the industry – and was helpful, friendly and competent. I did get quotes from other companies which were in the ballpark of the ADF figure but once I spoke to Jono, there was no other choice.”
Window in the room
Dr Wagstaff says she even looked at prefabricated rooms elsewhere and went down every acoustic pathway.
“My situation was a bit unique because my clinic is in an old house and there was a room it had to go in, so the fact ADF custom-made the room made a huge difference,” she adds.
Davies came to see the space and said it wouldn’t be a problem – he even checked the foundations of the old house to make certain the stumps could take the weight.
“He did all the measurements and was efficient, advising what he could do that I wanted,” she says. “I wanted a window in the room because there was already a window there, and I always felt that audiological rooms were claustrophobic.”
The existing window was double glazed, and Dr Wagstaff needed to ensure the new window didn’t compromise sound quality. Davies made a double-glazed window in the room that matched the existing window.
“My audiologists Elizabeth Winton and Natasha Bolch who do the hearing tests love that they have a window in their room,” Dr Wagstaff says, adding that she is also extremely happy with the result.
“Patients, particularly those who’ve had audiograms elsewhere, have been extremely complimentary about the window because previously they always felt claustrophobic.
“Those who have had them done in shopping centres can’t believe how quiet it is in the room. The sound was measured independently to ensure it complied to Australian standards.”
Dr Wagstaff has been in many audiometric booths and rooms over the years.
“There are some good, high-quality rooms but I have been in ones where you can hear cars going by and the audiologist has to compensate for that by deducting a few decibels here and there,” she recalls.
“With Jono’s room and my audiologists, I know the tests I’m getting are exact.”
There was a choice of colours and carpets and, again, Davies’ guidance was spot on, including advising against a bright colour which looked nice on paper, but for a smaller area might be too much for an audiologist to tolerate all day.
“It was hard not to be attracted to the bright colour, but he was good at giving practical advice,” she adds.
Little extras added to the high-end finish, such as strip lighting to provide ambience and a hidden custom air-conditioning system.
Minimal installation time
Skilled ADF staff constructed all of the room off site in the company’s Seaford manufacturing facility, reducing the amount of time needed on site. This enabled them to transport it and install it in just four days, minimising interruptions to patient consultations.
“Jono was extremely accommodating in not wanting to do the build when I had patients,” Dr Wagstaff says. “I cleared my Thursday patient schedule so his staff could work on Thursday, as well as my non-clinical day Friday, and they also worked Saturday and Sunday. I only had to clear a small amount of time from a clinical point of view.”
Davies was happy to work with her electrician instead of providing his. In fact, their relationship continues as the electrician works on home cinemas and heeds Davies’ soundproofing advice.
“Their communication with each other was fantastic,” Dr Wagstaff says.
Her personal assistant said the ADF workers were the most polite and respectful tradesmen she had come across; they even cleaned up and vacuumed. “They didn’t leave trip hazards, and it was installed in the time frame that they promised,” Dr Wagstaff adds.
They also knew the equipment audiologists would be using and where power points should be installed, reducing the need for her to make every decision, simply requiring signoff.
Turnkey project appealed
The process was easy, and the fact it was a turnkey project from start to end was appealing, as was not having multiple groups involved, she adds.
“It worked beautifully and was much smoother than I thought it would be,” Dr Wagstaff says.
Much of this can be attributed to Davies’ can-do attitude, knowledge and expertise in the industry, which stem from the legacy of his family-owned business. He proudly relayed the story to Dr Wagstaff of how his father Mr John Davies founded the business more than 40 years ago and installed his first audiometric room 30 years ago.
Since then, ADF Industries (All Duct Fabrications) has grown to design, manufacture and install hundreds of custom-made audiometric rooms, micro and modular booths and test laboratories across Australia and the world. Its quality products feature in audiology and ENT clinics, hospitals, at mining sites and in mobile hearing testing vehicles worldwide.
All are engineered and built to Australian or international standards as required to provide an optimal level of ambient sound, producing lab-type conditions to perform hearing tests.
Dr Wagstaff is originally from country Victoria and attended Maryborough High School before graduating in medicine from Monash University and doing surgical training at The Alfred Hospital.
“Once I was on the ENT program, you go wherever they send you and after I finished, I did a separate fellowship at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and the Royal Melbourne Hospital in cochlear implants and acoustic neuromas,” she says.
She then did a 12-month stint in the UK on acoustic and skull base surgery at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge.
Back in Australia, Dr Wagstaff worked at several hospitals as a visiting medical officer before becoming head of the ENT unit at Eastern Health in Box Hill and then medical director at Epworth Eastern Private Hospital.
NO GAP HOSPItAL
She is now medical director at Adeney Private Hospital in Kew, Australia’s first private hospital to provide zero out-of-pocket costs across its full suite of hospital services for people with Medibank or Bupa health insurance. Her subspeciality interest is otology.
The hospital operating entity, which is 51% owned by more than 40 doctors including Dr Wagstaff and 49% owned by Medibank, opened in March 2025. Her private practice where the audio room was installed, Adeney Clinic, is associated with the hospital.
In 2024 when the room was installed, she was organising a charity ball for the hospital.
“Jono was interested in that and even came along,” she says. “He really is a beautiful person.
“I would have no hesitation in recommending him and ADF to any audiologists, ENTs or anyone else who’s putting in an audiometric room or booth.”
*For more information see adfindustries.com.au
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