» About the Institute
The Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing is a leading Polish research institute and a highly specialized hospital providing a comprehensive care for persons suffering from the disorders of organs of hearing, voice, speech and balance as well as sinuses. According to Polish legal regulations it is a public institution and its activities are subject to the Act on Research Institutes and other acts pertaining to science, and the Act on Medical Activities. As a medical institution it represents a highest reference level.
The Institute was established in 1996 by the Minister of Health. The Director of the Institute is Prof. Henryk Skarżyński, MD, PhD, dr. h.c.
The World Hearing Center is the main unit of the Institute, the hub of its research, educational and clinical activities. It is located in Kajetany, 20 km from the center of Warsaw.
The Institute has also branch units in Łeba and collaborating centers in Kraków, Katowice, Olsztyn, Rzeszów, Szczecin, Gdańsk, Radom and Opole.
Medical experience
The Institute has an enormous experience in healthcare services. From the beginning of its existence, there are 15 000 – 21 000 surgical procedures performed annually in the Center. Every day, the World Hearing Center carries out – the most in the world – operations to improve hearing in the field of otorhinolaryngology, audiology and phoniatrics. In 98,7% these surgeries are planned, majority is performed on the same than the patient is admitted to the hospital. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that until present day more than 13,500 cochlear implants have been implanted in the Institute, which makes it one of the global leaders in this field.
In the out-patients’ clinic otolaryngologists, audiologists, phoniatricians and speech therapists, teachers of the deaf, clinical engineers and technicians provide yearly more than 200,000 consultations and examinations.
Development of the Institute
One of the foundations of the development of the modern society is the unprecedented progress in the interpersonal contacts, access to and exchange of information, development of information technologies and tools.
An integral part of that progress is the level of development and exploitation of out senses of hearing, voice, speech and language communication. It gives a new importance to all research and clinical activities in this field. Progress that happened in the ten years in terms of the possibilities of diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating the disorders of hearing, voice and speech is the result of the work of many groups of specialists in numerous fields of science and medicine, such as: acoustics, biomedical engineering, computer science, pedagogy, audiology, phoniatrics, genetics, otolaryngology or rehabilitation.