The Science Behind Cochlear Implants and the Technology That Changed Hearing
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Asia Tabb
aired; September 22, 2026
What happens when scientists connect an electronic device directly to the nervous system to help restore access to sound? On The Spark, we’ll talk with neuroscientist and cochlear implant pioneer Michael Merzenich, PhD, about the development of cochlear implants and how the technology changed the way scientists understand hearing and the brain. Merzenich and his team at the University of California, San Francisco began researching the neurophysiological basis of cochlear implants in the 1970s, helping advance the development of multichannel implants and eventually contributing to their commercialization.
We’ll discuss how cochlear implants differ from traditional hearing aids, how they convert sound into electrical signals that stimulate the auditory nerve, and what scientists learned about how the brain processes sound through the development of the technology. We’ll also talk about the evolution of cochlear implants from an experimental device to a medical technology used by more than a million people worldwide, Merzenich’s recognition with the 2026 Richard N. Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology, and what the future of hearing technology could look like.