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

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

Anna Czene-Hallinan of Cochlear Americas, +1-303-200-5423,
aczene-hallinan@cochlear.com; or Gina Spatafore of Weber Shandwick,
+1-415-248-3403, gina.spatafore@webershandwick.com, for Cochlear Americas