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Dr. William House, creator of cochlear implant, continues working at 88 to give gift of hearing | OregonLive.com
A little space history here:
A little space history here:
One adventure took the couple to Cape Canaveral. They stood in the VIP section of the blast-off of Apollo 14, next to the vice president.
House had developed a surgical treatment to relieve the symptoms of Meniere's disease, which causes severe vertigo and hearing loss. Astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, developed the disease and consulted House for a fix. Without it, he couldn't fly to the moon.
The doctor's operation rid Shepard of his attacks, and within a year he returned to flight status.
The morning after the take off, the Houses were invited to mission control for a phone conversation with Shepard. The astronaut was three-quarters of the way to the moon.
"I said, 'How are you doing?'" House recalled. "He said, 'I'm fine, Bill. I'm talking to you on the ear you operated on.'"
Afterward, June joked: "My God, Bill, wait until you get that phone bill."