In Memoriam: Paul Michael Bruder
Paul Michael Bruder was born in Moline, Illinois on April 23, 1985. He had a pretty typical childhood until age four when he started complaining of pains. He was taken to a specialist in Iowa City in the winter of 1989 and they found tumors. He was diagnosed with NF2 when he was six years old…
The Osia System: A Game Changer
By Javia Headley, Marketing Communications Manager Jason Jacobs was the first patient at the House Institute to receive the new Cochlear™ Osia® System, an active osseointegrated steady state implant system using digital piezoelectric stimulation. The Osia Implant is designed to be placed under the skin with minimally invasive surgery. It works by bypassing damaged areas…
60 Years of Cochlear Implants
At the House Institute, we have seen firsthand the powerful ways in which hearing technology can change lives. This year, as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of William House, MD, restoring hearing to the profoundly deaf, we also celebrate the lives that have been forever touched by this remarkable technology. To date, over 737,000 individuals…
The Gift of Hearing
By Tori Heninger, A House Institute cochlear implant patient I want to thank the House Institute and especially, Dr. William Luxford, my cochlear implant surgeon 3 times over, for helping me with my journey towards a better life through listening, language, and learning. I was born profoundly deaf in both ears. At 10 months old,…
Being Deaf Never Stood in My Way
By Francesca Heninger, A House Institute cochlear implant patient Even before I was born, the doctors knew that something was off about me. My mother was sure that I would be born deaf because my older sister is also deaf. Sure enough, I was born with a profound, bilateral hearing impairment. I received my first…
Hazel’s Story
Our Director of Development, Audrey Salzburg, sat down with 89-year-old grateful patient Hazel McNutt to discuss her relationship to the House Institute Foundation for our “Share Your Story” program. “Dr. Luxford Saved My Life.” These were the words I heard from Hazel McNutt, the first patient I had the honor of speaking with when I…
The Little Things — Darlene’s 50-Year Journey with Hearing Loss
By Javia Headley, Marketing Communications Manager When Darlene Fragale first started losing her hearing in the 1960s, there were not many options for otosclerosis patients like her to regain their sense of sound. Otosclerosis occurs when a middle ear bone grows abnormally, disrupting the path sound would travel. Darlene was in her thirties when she…
Celebrating 75 Years of Changing Lives Like David’s
By Javia Headley, Marketing Communications Manager In 1946, when Dr. Howard House first founded what is now the House Institute Foundation (HIF), he dreamed of helping patients like David. At that time, there were not many options for those struggling with hearing-related disease. He hoped an institution dedicated to hearing research and education for hearing…
Mary B. Leutloff: Pioneer and Philanthropist
Legacy of a Life Well-Lived (12/8/1921 – 8/21/2019) Driven to discover and develop her breadth of talents, Mary B. Leutloff is remembered as a well-loved and remarkable woman who was devoted to her family and the causes she cared about. Self-made in an era where few women deviated from the pressures of traditional gender roles,…
