Cochlear Americas Provides Support for Cochlear Implant Recipients to Pursue Higher...

Cochlear Americas Provides Support for Cochlear Implant Recipients to Pursue
Higher Education

Company Announces 2009 Graeme Clark Scholarship Winners

DENVER, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Cochlear Americas, the world's leader in
advanced hearing technologies, today announced the winners of the 2009 Graeme
Clark Scholarship awards. Since 2002, the Graeme Clark Cochlear Scholarship
Foundation has recognized the remarkable achievements of individuals who have
received a Nucleus(R) cochlear implant - a small electronic device that can
provide a sense of hearing to someone who has severe to profound hearing loss.
This year, five outstanding students have been selected to receive a total of
$40,000 in financial assistance toward an accredited university.

"Cochlear Americas is dedicated to empowering our Nucleus recipients with an
opportunity to pursue higher goals and achieve their greatest dreams," said
Chris Smith, President, Cochlear Americas. "We are proud to provide
assistance to such intelligent and engaged young adults who demonstrate
superior academic achievement, leadership and community involvement."

The five scholarship winners are:

-- Emily Fustos (Allison Park, PA), a freshman at Pennsylvania State
University, was born profoundly deaf and received a Nucleus cochlear
implant at age 2. Emily is enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College
where she is considering using her unique perspective of both the deaf
and hearing worlds to specialize in speech pathology and communication
disorders.

-- Alison Marinelli (South Windsor, CT), a freshman at Assumption
College,
was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the age of 9 months, and
at
age 4 received her first Nucleus cochlear implant. She received a
second cochlear implant in her other ear as a teenager. She is
pursuing
a degree in speech and language pathology, with the ultimate goal of
attaining both her master's and doctorate degrees to better assist
others in developing skills in hearing and oral communication.

-- Heather Page (Fairfield, OH), a sophomore at the University of North
Carolina at Wilmington, was diagnosed with severe-to-profound hearing
loss at age 3 and received a Nucleus cochlear implant when she was 16.

Heather is working toward a degree in marine biology and environmental
studies within the nationally-recognized marine biology program at
UNCW,
and pursuing her passion for music as concert master of the clarinet
section in the UNCW Wind Symphony.

-- Grayson Swaim (Camby, IN), a freshman at Wabash College, became deaf
from bacterial meningitis when he was 10 months old and received a
Nucleus cochlear implant at age 5. Grayson believes his cochlear
implant helped him to achieve his goals of graduating from high school
with honors and getting accepted into a four-year university. Grayson
hopes to pursue a career in law and make a difference in people's
lives by creating more opportunities for those in need.

-- Tyler Wagner (Ackley, IA), a sophomore at University of Northern Iowa,
lost his hearing after a tragic trampoline accident in 1998. Shortly
after the accident, he received a Nucleus cochlear implant. Tyler
excelled in athletics in high school, placing sixth in the Iowa State
Wrestling Tournament his senior year. Tyler is currently pursuing a
degree in exercise science and looks forward to having a positive
impact
on the health of others.

The winners were announced at an award ceremony held March 29 as part of
Cochlear Americas' Celebration 2009. This inspirational four-day event offers
educational sessions and a variety of activities designed to unite the
Cochlear community of recipients, volunteers and their families to share
experiences and successes. Celebration is the largest gathering of cochlear
implant recipients in the world, bringing together more than 600 recipients
and their families.

For 2009, Cochlear Americas received 80 scholarship applications from students
in 27 states across the U.S. and five provinces in Canada. Eligible students
must have a Nucleus cochlear implant and must be entering their first year of
college or enrolled in an accredited university. Selection criteria include
academic performance, letters of recommendation, awards and activities, and a
short personal essay describing academic inspiration and other interests.
Past winners of the scholarship have gone on to achieve great success,
including graduating college with honors, playing collegiate-level sports and
pursuing graduate degrees in medicine and law. Brief biographies of the 2009
scholarship winners are available online at www.cochlearamericas.com.

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 the Graeme Clark Cochlear Scholarship Foundation
The Graeme Clark Cochlear Scholarship Foundation was established in 2002 in
honor of Professor Graeme Clark, Department of Otolaryngology at the
University of Melbourne, for his lifelong commitment to finding a solution for
the hearing impaired and his pioneering work in the field of cochlear implant
technology. Awarded by Cochlear Americas, this scholarship consists of
financial assistance towards a college degree at an accredited university. The
award is paid in yearly installments upon the completion of each year of
study. Each award is in the amount of $2,000 per year for up to a total of
four years. For more information about the Graeme Clark Cochlear Scholarship
Foundation, call 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