To clarify the first steps in the development of the CI, ie, an electrical stimulating device partially inserted into the cochlea. House-and more than 50 years after placement of the first CI-offers a precise account of the early experimental period. This retrospective, published shortly after the death of inventor William F. Histories of cochlear implant (CI) technology have often been inaccurate owing to the confusion of terms and anatomical situations or to biased reporting.