Today is International Cochlear Implant Day, celebrating more than 40 years since the advent of the 'bionic ear’ by Australia’s Professor Graeme Clark.
The small device provides a person with moderate to profound hearing loss and a modified sense of sound.
Professor Clark's invention is used by over 600,000 people worldwide.
"It's wonderful to see the young children who are having the implants, even before the age of one, growing up with normal speech and language," Professor Clark says.
Hearing loss affects one in six Australians and is projected to rise to one in four by 2050.