The modern cochlear implant is the result of decades
of research and development by scientists around the
world. The Deafness Research Foundation funded some
of the earliest research on cochlear implants, and has
continued to play a major role in the development of
cochlear technology.
| Date |
Discovery |
 |
|
| 1800 |
Italian physicist, Allesandro Volta
uses electrical current to stimulate his inner ear. |
|
|
| 1957 |
Djourno & Eyries publish the first
article on direct electrical excitation of the auditory
nerve. |
 |
|
| |
Dr. William House first hears of the research
from a patient. |
|
|
| 1961 |
Dr. House implants the first two American patients
for short-term clinical trials. |
|
|
| 1964 |
Dr. Blair Simmons of Stanford University implants
a six-electrode unit in a patient. |
|
|
| 1965-70 |
Engineer Jack Urban and Dr. House design a workable/wearable
implant. |
|
|
| 1972 |
Dr. House builds the first wearable signal processor. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to William
Dobelle of the University of Utah to investigate
the viability of a "functional prosthesis"
and to Dr. Richard Walloch of the University of
Oregon to develop an electrical prosthesis. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to Dr.
John Frederickson of the University of Toronto to
develop an implantable electromagnetic hearing aid. |
|
|
| 1973-74 |
Dr. House implants five patients and begins organized
clinical trials, despite the skepticism of the scientific
community. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation grant to Dr. House
to develop criteria for the selection and evaluation
of prospective cochlear implant wearers. |
|
|
| 1975 |
The development of a viable multi-channel implant
begins at the University of Melbourne, University
of Utah, and the University of California at San
Francisco. |
|
|
| 1977 |
Bilger & Black Report published in the Annals
of Otology, Rhinology, and Laryngology. It confirms
that cochlear implants do indeed aid hearing and
speech in the deaf. |
|
|
| 1978 |
Both the University of Melbourne and the University
of Utah projects implant their first multi-channel
units. |
|
|
| 1980 |
Food and Drug Administration begins to regulate
cochlear implants. |
|
|
| |
Dr. House performs the first ever cochlear implantation
on a child. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to Dr.
Larry Duckert of the University of Washington for
the study of implants in guinea pigs. |
|
|
| 1981 |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to Dr.
DK Eddington of the University of Utah in support
of the development of the multi-channel implant.
|
|
|
| |
Grant given to Dr. RL Snyder of UCSF for the evaluation
of cochlear prostheses. |
|
|
| |
Three implant models start on the road to commercial
availability. House/3m (Dr. House), Nucleus/Cochlear
Corp. (U. of Melbourne), and Ineraid/Symbion (U.
of Utah). |
|
|
| 1982 |
Research Triangle Institute (RTI) begins the
development of a standard speech processor. |
|
|
| 1983 |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to Dr.
Kuhl of the University of Washington for a study
of lip reading and cochlear implants. |
|
|
| 1984 |
House/3M unit is the first approved by the FDA
for implantation in adults. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation grant to Dr. Gavin
of the Institute of Logopedics for a study of speech
transmission among cochlear implant users. |
|
|
| 1985 |
Nucleus/Cochlear Corp. implant approved by the
Food and Drug Administration. |
|
|
| 1986-87 |
Research Triangle Institute develops the CIS speech
processor. Tests on Ineraid patients show dramatic
improvements in speech recognition. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation funds Dr. EA Tobey's
study of speech production by cochlear implant wearers. |
|
|
| 1987-88 |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to Dr.
MJ Osberger and Dr. VC Tartter to study speech recognition
and production by cochlear implant users. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation also gives grants
to Dr. Skinner, Dr. Altschuler, Dr. Jerger, Dr.
Losteau, and Dr. Niparko for cochlear implant research. |
|
|
| 1989 |
First child receives the Nucleus multi-channel
implant. |
|
|
| 1990 |
Food and Drug Administration approves implantation
of the Nucleus unit for children as young as two
years. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to Dr.
Schwaber for cochlear stimulation research. |
|
|
| 1991 |
Advanced Bionics Corp. begins production of the
Clarion Implant (from UCSF project). |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to Dr.
CJ Brown for the study of auditory conduction in
cochlear implant users. |
|
|
| 1993 |
Deafness Research Foundation funds Dr. RA Normann's
study of potential implant users and Dr. El-Kashlan's
study of multichannel stimulation of the auditory
brainstem. |
|
|
| 1994 |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to Dr.
J Assouline of the University of Iowa for the study
of cochlear stimulation of deaf animals. |
|
|
| 1995 |
Deafness Research Foundation funds Dr. R Fox's
and Dr. Mendoza's studies of speech and auditory
processing in CI users. |
|
|
| 1996 |
The Food and Drug Administration approves Advanced
Bionics' Clarion implant. |
|
|
| |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grant to support
Dr. Pat Chute's study of language development in
implanted children. |
|
|
| 1998 |
Deafness Research Foundation funds Dr. Svirsky's
study of speech recognition in implant wearers. |
|
|
| 1999 |
Deafness Research Foundation funds Dr. DJ Ertmer's
and Dr. JP Grayhack's studies of vocalization in
implanted adults. |
|
|
| 2000 |
Deafness Research Foundation gives grants to Dr.
Cheng for a cost-utility analysis of implants, to
Dr. Kaiser for the development of a speech processor,
and to Dr. Buss for the study of speech perception
among implant users. |
|
|
| 2001 |
Deafness Research Foundation gives a grant to
Dr. Jill Firszt for her study on cochlear implant
criteria. Her results are leading to new cochlear
implant criteria for adults. |
|
|
| 2002-2004 |
Deafness Research Foundation supports Dr. Kevin
Franck and Derek Houston for their projects on cochlear
implant testing, and Betty Schopmeyer and Sarah
Dawson Wainscott for their studies linking pre-linguistic
communication behaviors and learning environment
and cochlear implants. All projects target young
children. |
