Concluding Remarks

Abstract

These were the reports of our seven panelists. One thing appears to be clear, at least to me: We still have a long way to go, the optimism of some of our clinical colleagues notwithstanding. Let me hasten to add that I am not saying that the problems of the cochlear implant are completely unsolvable we physiologists have been wrongly accused of that attitude in the past. However, at this point, nobody really knows to what degree we might eventually be able to restore speech perception. I am reasonably sure that we can improve on what is attainable today, but I have grave doubts that we will ever come even remotely close to restoring normal speech perception.