39 years ago: Implant history was made in Australia

On June 4, 1987, 4-year-old Holly McDonnell (now Holly Taylor) of Sydney, Australia, who had lost her hearing due to meningitis, became the first child to receive a commercial multi-channel cochlear implant system (Nucleus made by Cochlear, LTD).

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McDonnell became profoundly deaf from a bout with bacterial meningitis. Holly still has her original implant and had several sound processor upgrades.

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You can see a video she made in 2018 about the experience here.