William Fouts House (December 1, 1923 in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

– December 7, 2012 in

Aurora, Oregon Aurora is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. Before being incorporated as a city, it was the location of the Aurora Colony, a religious commune founded in 1856 by William Keil and John E. Schmit. William named the settlement after h ...

) was an American

otologist Otology is a branch of medicine which studies normal and pathological anatomy and physiology of the ear (hearing and vestibular sensory systems and related structures and functions) as well as their diseases, diagnosis and treatment. Otologic ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and medical researcher who developed and invented the

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech und ...

. The cochlear implant is considered to be the first invention to restore not just the sense of

hearing Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psycholog ...

, but any of the absent

five senses A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...

in humans. Dr. House also pioneered approaches to the lateral skull base for removal of tumors, and is considered "the Father of Neurotology." William F

Biography

House was born on December 1, 1923, in

, and moved to

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States ...

, when he was three years old. House completed pre-dental degrees at

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. He then enrolled at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

in 1945. He then served as a dental officer in the

United States Navy Dental Corps The Dental Corps of the United States Navy consists of naval officers who have a doctorate in either dental surgery (DDS) or dental medicine (DMD) and who practice dentistry for Sailors and Marines to ensure optimal oral health. The U.S. Navy De ...

from 1946 to 1948. After serving in the navy, House earned a medical degree from the University of Southern California in 1952. His older half brother, Howard P. House, was also a physician and was focused on

otology Otology is a branch of medicine which studies normal and pathological anatomy and physiology of the ear (hearing and vestibular sensory systems and related structures and functions) as well as their diseases, diagnosis and treatment. Otologic ...

, founding the

House Ear Institute The House Institute Foundation (HIF), formerly the House Ear Institute, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, based in Los Angeles, California, and dedicated to advancing hearing science through research, education, and global hearing health to ...

(later renamed the House Research Institute) in 1946. William House eventually adopted the same focus. House was heavily criticized by physicians and surgeons during much of his career. Many believed his idea of a device to electrically stimulate the ear would never work. Today, however, he is generally regarded as a hero, in that his innovative research and development led to the creation of the modern cochlear implant. House's first design for a cochlear implant was surgically implanted in 1961, but the implant was rejected by the patient's body. A longer-lasting model was developed and successfully implanted in 1969, and it was introduced commercially in 1972. One of his patients was astronaut

Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he beca ...

, first American and the second person in

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

in 1961, and, thanks to Dr. House, 5th man to walk on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

in 1971 following a procedure he performed on him for

Ménière's disease Ménière's disease (MD) is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by potentially severe and incapacitating episodes of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Typically, only one ear is affected initial ...

. In 1987, House was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree from

. House died on December 7, 2012, at his home in

, at the age of 89.

References

External links

Remembering Dr. William House
– Profile in ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', based on a May 2012 interview {{DEFAULTSORT:House, William 1923 births 2012 deaths American otolaryngologists 20th-century American inventors University of Southern California alumni Whittier College alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni People from Whittier, California Physicians from Oregon Aurora, Oregon Keck School of Medicine of USC alumni United States Navy officers Military personnel from California