The story of the Cochlear Implant has many twists and turns. Hanging out at the Natinal Institute for the Deaf at a party I heard a deaf guitarist that was quite good. As a cellist with many peak experiences from orchestra I wondered how he could hear what he was playing.

Understanding the nature of turning acoustic sound into the electric biologic signals the "ear" sends to the brain and how they do not cross over as with vision (they are processed on the same hemisphere as the particular ear involved) I first theorized an external inducer , sort of like wearing a stocking cap with tiny electrodes on the sides.

It worked but did not work. In other words it produced a synthesia or confusion between senses. Sort of like seeing a smell or seeing a sound or hearing a touch. There had to be much more precision as to the placement to the existing suditory nerves.

This idea went from a research team (of all places) Kodak to Litton Industries to a myriad of other medical research industries before they got it right over the next 10 years. Even at its very best it is about 10% of what the true texture that normal hearing can provide.