David Landberger, Ph.D., an auditory scientist at NYU and a member of the chapter’s Board of Directors, will be the featured speaker. Dr. Landsberger will discuss the rich history of the cochlear implant from its early origins through the cutting edge of cochlear implant technology to the future possibilities. In the early days, it was hoped that cochlear implants might be useful aids for lipreading. Early pioneers took great risks getting experimental devices implanted into their heads with the hope of possibly hearing something again. With time, the cochlear implant has evolved such that surgery has become routine and outcomes highly exceed the expectations of the early pioneers.