Jean turned into a patient researcher, when trying to make sense of her own idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. She started by writing book reviews for the magazine of the charity Action on Hearing Loss, which led to further charity involvement with Hearing Link. Hearing Link in turn enlisted her as a steering group member for the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnerships, to come up with ten research priorities for mild to moderate hearing loss. In 2016 she became a Fellow of NIHR CLAHRC (Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care) Northwest London, looking into how to improve communication for people with hearing loss in care homes
Jean has been on steering groups of Aston University, working on patient choice in tinnitus treatment. Recently she co-produced a Sandpit Innovation, which led to the ongoing Hearing Birdsong – hearing loss awareness project. She has written opinion pieces for the BMJ and is also one of their patient reviewers
Jean has broadened her focus to include advocating for patients with many conditions. She is a public partner of NIHR ARC Northwest London and an Associate of the Point of Care Foundation.
