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Forty years of “Waltzing Matilda”: the history of the multichannel cochlear implant

Joyce PK Ho, Hannah North and Narinder P Singh
Med J Aust 2018; 209 (11): . || doi: 10.5694/mja18.00365
Published online: 3 December 2018

The fascinating history of the multichannel cochlear implant and its inventor, Professor Graeme Clark

A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device for converting sounds into an electrical current that directly stimulates the cochlear nerve.1 It consists of external (microphone, speech processor, transmitter) and internal components (receiver/stimulator, electrode array in the cochlea) and can be implanted in both children and adults.


  • 1 Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW
  • 2 Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW
  • 3 Ear Nose & Throat Sydney, Sydney, NSW



Acknowledgements: 

All images provided courtesy of Cochlear Limited.

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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  • 12. Tong YC, Black RC, Clark GM, et al. A preliminary report on a multiple-channel cochlear implant operation. J Laryngol Otol 1979; 93: 679-695.

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