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Review
. 2024 Sep 19;16(9):e69724.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.69724. eCollection 2024 Sep.

William F. House: The Father of Neurotology

Joshua M Goins  1 , Gauri Mankekar  2
Affiliations
Review

William F. House: The Father of Neurotology

Joshua M Goins et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

William F. House (1923-2012) was an ear, nose, and throat specialist with a particular focus in otology and an inventor, with perhaps his greatest invention being the single-channel cochlear implant. Although heavily criticized at the beginning of his career for developing the single-channel cochlear implant, many individuals would soon benefit from the device that House created. He also revolutionized a new technique for the removal of vestibular schwannomas with assistance from his neurosurgeon colleague, Dr. William Hitselberger. House is considered as the "Father of Neurotology" because of his many advancements in the medical field with refined surgery techniques and life-changing devices.

Keywords: cochlear implant; historical vignette; medical biographies; medical device innovator; neurotology; pioneer in medicine; william house.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. William F. House, MD, 1923-2012
Source: House Ear Institute Archives, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 [5]
Figure 2
Figure 2. Diagram of a cochlear implant
Source: Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (public domain), modified from the original [16]
Figure 3
Figure 3. Several generations of cochlear implant processors
Source: Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (public domain), licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 [19]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. House House, W. F. (2011a, August 29) Interview with William House, M.D. . [ Jul; 2024 ]. 2011. https://www.audiologyonline.com/interviews/interview-with-william-house-... https://www.audiologyonline.com/interviews/interview-with-william-house-...
    1. A winning team: William F. House, MD, and William E. Hitselberger, MD - online exclusive. AAO-HNS Bulletin. Bulletin-The official content hub of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. [ Jul; 2024 ]. 2014. https://bulletin.entnet.org/home/article/21246213/a-winning-team-william... https://bulletin.entnet.org/home/article/21246213/a-winning-team-william...
    1. In memoriam: William F. House, DDS, MD, the “father of neurotology” (1923-2012) Berliner K. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 - PubMed
    1. File:William F. Wikimedia Commons, William F. House, MD. [ Jul; 2024 ]. 2015. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_F._House,_M.D.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_F._House,_M.D.jpg

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