This week in class we learned about the cochlear implant, and I found an interesting article about the creators. Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair are the creators of the cochlear implant. The couple known as the "electronic couple", created the implant in the 1970's while at Vienna University of Technology. The cochlear ear piece allowed people with a hearing disability to hear speech, instead of noise. Hochmairs created the company Med-El, and are now responsible for making 1/3 of the devices each year. Their goal is to have people better understand the cochlear implant. They believe it starts with parents, because as people get older they think their hearing just declines. Though the cochlear implant is supposed to stop the decline and help older people hear well. In hopes parents see the incline of improved hearing, Hochmairs hope parents will allow their children to have cochlear implants too. Children who are deaf in one ear, are required to miss one year of school because they retain only half of whats being said. If the cochlear is implanted at an early age, the kids with a hearing disability will be on the same learing level as their peers.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/aug/10/bionic-ear-couple-hochmairs-cochlear-implant-innovators
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/aug/10/bionic-ear-couple-hochmairs-cochlear-implant-innovators