MED-EL, Froedtert Hospital & the Medical College of Wisconsin begin Bilateral Cochlear Implant Clinical Study

First patients receive hearing implants in both ears.

DURHAM, NC - Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, made medical history with surgical implantation of the first two U.S. patients to become part of MED-EL Corporation's bilateral Cochlear implant clinical study. Dr. Philip Wackym, John C. Koss Professor and Chairman of Otolaryngology of the Medical College of Wisconsin, stated, 'I am very pleased to be a part of MED-EL's unique bilateral cochlear implant study. MED-EL's bilateral implant system has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of hearing for many hearing impaired individuals.' On Sept. 8, MED-EL announced the start of a scientific clinical study to determine the benefits of cochlear implants placed in both ears of a patient (bilateral implants). 'We've always known the magic of stereo can transform lives,' said Michael J. Koss, President and CEO of the KOSS Corporation. 'It is now exciting and gratifying to see this new technology applied to help patients enjoy the world in full three dimensions.'

'Expectations are high that patients will be able to use the information from both ears to dramatically improve their quality of life,' said Dr. Wackym. 'We are focused on changing people's lives for the better,' remarked Chris Bertrand, CEO of MED-EL Corporation, North America. 'We have a history of developing progressive technology and providing superior customer service to our patients and their medical professionals. Our emphasis is now on the improving the application of cochlear implants for the benefit of hearing impaired patients around the world.'

MED-EL, the leading medical device company on the cutting edge of Cochlear Implant technology, recently received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to bring advanced cochlear implant solutions to the United States. MED-EL's unique, user-friendly TEMPO+ Behind-the-Ear Speech Processor along with the small, high performance COMBI 40+ cochlear implant provides the most advanced and convenient cochlear implant system on the market today. It is due to the design and performance of MED-EL's ear level processor that makes bilateral implantation a possibility for hearing impaired individuals.

MED-EL provides a complete family of products and services to support the various needs of Cochlear Implant patients and their medical professionals.

About MED-EL
Nearly 25 years ago, researchers who later founded MED-EL developed one of the world's first cochlear implants. Today, MED-EL is growing faster than any other cochlear implant company and is the global leader in innovative technology in this field. MED-EL products are the result of collaborative efforts by MED-EL engineers, surgeons, audiologists, therapists and, of course, implant users.

MED-EL has 14 regional offices worldwide including a North American Headquarters in Durham, North Carolina and Worldwide Headquarters in Innsbruck, Austria. MED-EL has implanted over 6,000 implants in over 258 clinics in 54 countries worldwide. To date there are over 5,000 advanced TEMPO+ BTE speech processors in use. For more information contact MED-EL Corporation or visit our website at www.medel.com.

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