what are the objectives of the new IHU reConnect?

Nearly 65% ​​of people over 65 are affected by a hearing problem in France, according to the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). Exposure to noise is one of the main causes of hearing problems.

In a press release, the Pasteur Institute announced the launch of the new reConnect University Hospital Institute (IHU). The aim of this multidisciplinary structure is to offer “the most innovative therapies for deaf and hard of hearing people, but also for those suffering from tinnitus, speech and language disorders such as stuttering, autism or even dyslexia”.

The IHU reConnect, for better detection and management of hearing and speech disorders

Hosted by the Pasteur Institute in the form of a foundation, the IHU reConnect will use and rely on the fundamental knowledge of the Hearing Institute and the expertise of its partners AP-HP, Inserm, Paris Cité University and the Fondation Pour l’Audition, in order to allow patients with hearing and speech disorders to benefit from the latest scientific advances.

Around 300 researchers, doctors (ENT, neurologists, neurosurgeons, geriatricians) and hearing and speech professionals (hearing prosthetists, speech therapists) will work together within the IHU reConnect to develop new treatments and diagnostic tools.

Hearing and speech disorders: better informing clinicians and the general public

As part of future IHU reConnect projects, seven major priority research themes have been defined. “The themes selected, which range from deafness to neurodegenerative diseases, follow the auditory pathways, from the external ear to the brain (…) It is moreover this transversal aspect which in my eyes characterizes the IHU: an approach transversal which covers all ages, all disciplines, all diseases, from the rarest to the most common. It allows us to break down the barriers between specialties and to think together.” explained Professor Claire Paquet, scientific director of IHU reConnect and head of department of the Cognitive Neurology Center at Lariboisière AP-HP hospital.

Another objective of the IHU reConnect? Develop training and prevention actions throughout France. The desire of this organization is to offer “more visibility to treatments and management of hearing disorders” by training students, warning clinicians of medical advances and better informing the general public. “We would also like, as there are defibrillators in all public places, to set up emergency hearing medicine so that sudden deafness can be treated quickly, for example after concerts”added Anne-Lise Giraud, director of IHU reConnect and director of the Hearing Institute, of the Institut Pasteur center.