Our Story
The Ear Foundation - our story
The Ear Foundation was established in 1989 to bring cochlear implantation for deaf children to the UK. The Nottingham Paediatric Cochlear Implant Programme, part of Queen's Medical Centre University Hospital NHS Trust, established the first dedicated programme for children in the UK, supported by The Ear Foundation
The National Health Service (NHS) now funds the clinical service of implantation, and The Ear Foundation, therefore, focuses its work on the essential long-term support needed by implanted children and their families. A further important aspect is the provision of information and the training of professionals, without which the implant system would be ineffective in the long-term.
The charity has achieved a great deal since its formation:
- The establishment of the clinical programme for cochlear implantation
- Marjorie Sherman House, providing accommodation and rehabilitation facilities for families
- The support and education of parents
- The education and training of professionals in the field of cochlear implantation
- Research into the effects of cochlear implantation
- The Ear Foundation Centre
The Ear Foundation facilities are open to all, wherever the children have received their cochlear implants - in the UK or abroad.
"We think of the Cochlear Implant System as a miracle of technology. It is, but it does not insert itself, tune itself, or show parents how to teach their children how to learn to listen"