Cochlear Americas Hosts Celebration 2009 for Cochlear Implant Recipients and Their Families

Event Marks World's Largest Gathering of Cochlear Implant Recipients

DENVER, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Cochlear Americas, the world's leader in advanced hearing technologies, brings together cochlear implant recipients and their families for the third Cochlear Celebration on March 26-29 in Anaheim, California. With over 600 recipients and their families expected to attend, this inspiring four-day event is the largest gathering of cochlear implant recipients in the world. Celebration 2009 offers educational sessions and a variety of activities designed to teach recipients and their families how to maximize the use of Nucleus(R) cochlear implants, a small electronic device designed to restore hearing to someone with severe-to-profound hearing loss.

"Celebration 2009 demonstrates our commitment to our cochlear implant recipients in helping them achieve their personal best," said Chris Smith, President, Cochlear Americas. "This exciting event offers recipients the unique opportunity to be in the company of so many others who have experienced their same miraculous journey of regaining hearing. It's an opportunity like no other for us to connect, inspire and support the Cochlear family."

Celebration 2009 will educate participants and supply them with the tools necessary to get the most out of life with their cochlear implants. Cochlear Americas has assembled an expert panel of hearing educators and recipients to discuss cochlear implants. Attendees will hear inspirational success stories, discuss rehabilitation resources and programs, engage in question-and-answer sessions and learn what the future holds for recipients and cochlear implant technology. Recipients and their families will also be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of Disneyland Resort while meeting and sharing stories with other cochlear recipients.

The closing session of Celebration 2009 on March 29 will honor the incredible accomplishments of the 2009 Graeme Clark Scholarship winners. Since 2002, Cochlear Americas has funded the Graeme Clark Scholarships that have recognized the remarkable achievements of individuals who have excelled academically and have received a Nucleus cochlear implant. This year, a total of $40,000 in financial assistance toward an accredited university has been awarded across five outstanding students.

About Cochlear Americas

Cochlear Americas is the world's leader in advanced hearing technologies. Since launching the first multichannel cochlear implant system more than 25 years ago, Cochlear Limited and its U.S. headquarters have brought the miracle of sound to more than 150,000 hearing-impaired individuals across the globe. Cochlear Americas' state-of-the-art cochlear implant technology, based on extensive research and development at preeminent academic institutions, provides the ability to hear sound and better understand speech, enhancing both learning capabilities and quality of life for those with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Cochlear Americas also markets an implantable bone-anchored hearing device for treatment of conductive and mixed hearing loss, as well as single-sided deafness. For more information about Cochlear Americas' products, call the Cochlear Hotline at 800/458-4999 (Voice) or 800/483-3123 (TTY) or visit www.cochlearamericas.com.

About Cochlear Implants

A cochlear implant is an electronic device that is surgically implanted and works by directly stimulating functioning auditory nerve fibers in the inner ear. Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants do not amplify sound, but instead are designed to mirror natural hearing. Cochlear implants convert sound waves to electrical impulses and transmit them to the inner ear, providing people with severe-to-profound hearing loss the ability to identify sounds in their environment and often to understand speech without reading lips. The cochlear implant is recognized as a standard treatment for profound deafness by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery. For more information about cochlear implants, visit www.cochlearamericas.com.

SOURCE Cochlear Americas

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