Press release: MED EL

Prestigious Global Engineering Medals Awarded to Cochlear Implant Inventors Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair (of MED EL)

May 05, 2023 – (Innsbruck, Austria): Austrian cochlear implant pioneers, Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair and Prof. Erwin Hochmair have been granted the 2023 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal for their outstanding contribution to communication and engineering.

The Hochmairs each received the prestigious IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal for the research and development of cochlear implants – a medical device that helps people living with hearing loss to hear again. Their ground-breaking research resulted in the creation of the world’s first microelectronic multichannel cochlear implant, which was successfully implanted in December 1977.  Since then, their work has continued to change the lives of people around the world.

 
Engineering and technology innovation continues to transform both humanity and the world for the better, and nowhere is that transformation more visible or profound than in healthcare. By pairing engineering expertise with medical knowledge, Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair have restored the gift of hearing to hundreds of thousands worldwide, fundamentally improving their lives. Their 2023 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal is a well-deserved honor, and we congratulate them on their accomplishments”, said IEEE Awards Board chair, Dr. Nim K. Cheung.