Ariel Hight, PhD, was born deaf and received his first cochlear implant at age 3. More than two decades later, he received a second implant and experienced, with an adult’s awareness, how the brain gradually learns to interpret unfamiliar sounds. Today, Dr. Hight is a neuroscientist and postdoctoral fellow at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where his experience with deafness and cochlear implants informs his research into how the brain adapts to devices designed to restore hearing. Working with neuroscientist Robert C. Froemke, PhD, and cochlear implant surgeon J. Thomas Roland Jr., MD, Dr. Hight is helping investigate whether stimulating the vagus nerve can help the brain adapt more quickly to the electrical signals produced by cochlear implants. In this episode of Behind the Breakthrough, learn how Dr. Hight’s lived experience shapes the scientific questions he asks and his pursuit of new ways to help people hear better. Chapters: 00:00 – Dr. Hight’s Cochlear Implant Journe...