Active biomaterials for tympanic membrane regeneration in chronic suppurative otitis media – TympaBiOM

Chronic suppurative otitis media is a chronic inflammation of the middle ear and mastoid cavity, resulting from initial episodes of acute otitis media. It is the most common childhood disease in the world. It is characterized by recurrent ear discharges or otorrhoea through a persistent perforation (> 3 months) of the tympanic membrane. This disease is an important cause of hearing loss and even of death due to intracranial complications, particularly in the developing world. Systemic or topic administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics induces side effects, and is partly responsible for the increase in antibiotic resistance. If the perforation does not resolve on its own, surgery (under general anesthesia) is required to repair the tympanic membrane. Current methods are costly, time consuming and can be associated with anesthesia complications. Moreover, in the developing world, they are not widely available. The TympaBiOM project aims to design biomaterials to simultaneously repair the tympanic membrane without surgery. This approach appears promising to treat chronic suppurative otitis media in children and prevent otitis recurrence.