The Mayo Clinic Acclaim cochlear implant trial reached a milestone this week.
It has been a while since the last update. Life, work, and the trial keep moving. But this one called for a post.
This week I received a message through the Mayo portal from Dr. Colin Driscoll, MD. Dr. Driscoll is the surgeon who performed my Acclaim cochlear implant procedure on May 12, 2022. After 27 years on staff at the Mayo Clinic, he is retiring at the end of May 2026.
He sent a personal note. With his permission, I am sharing it here.
I am writing to let you know after 27 years on Staff at the Mayo Clinic and a wonderful lifetime in medicine I am retiring at the end of May, 2026. A special “thank you” for being a pioneer in the development of the Envoy Acclaim cochlear implant and for the trust you placed in me and the Mayo Clinic team. You played a critically important role in the refinement of the device, it could not have been done without you! It has been an absolute privilege to be a part of your medical journey, thank you for taking me along.
I wish you all the best, and rest assured there are others here to pick up where I leave off.
Sincerely,
Colin Driscoll, MD
Mayo Clinic
A few thoughts on what this means.
I owe Dr. Driscoll everything. He carried the clinical weight of a procedure that had never been done before, and he did it with extraordinary care. The trust I placed in him was returned in full. Whatever this trial becomes, his hands shaped it.
The trial continues. The work continues. There are others at Mayo to pick up where he leaves off.
About the Mayo Clinic Acclaim Cochlear Implant Trial
The Acclaim is the world’s first fully implanted cochlear implant. Unlike traditional cochlear implants, which require an external sound processor worn behind the ear, the Acclaim sits entirely beneath the skin. There is nothing visible. Nothing to remove at night. Nothing to take off before swimming, sleeping, or playing contact sports. The device uses the body’s own ear anatomy to pick up sound rather than relying on an external microphone.
The Mayo Clinic Acclaim cochlear implant trial is the early feasibility study that has been working to refine the device and demonstrate its safety and efficacy. It is an investigational device, limited by federal law to investigational use until FDA approval is granted.
I was Patient CI3. The third human ever to receive the device. The first to hear with a fully implanted cochlear implant and no external amplification. The work Dr. Driscoll and the Mayo Clinic team did was not just a surgery on me. It was the surgical proof-of-concept that allowed the trial to move forward to additional patients.
For people living with severe to profound hearing loss, the Acclaim represents something the field has been working toward for decades: hearing restoration that is invisible, durable, and integrated. The trial is still active and continues to enroll. For more information about the trial and the device itself, visit Envoy Medical’s official site.
To Dr. Driscoll: thank you for taking me along.
To everyone reading: the journey is not over. It is just entering the next chapter.
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If you are someone living with hearing loss, or you love someone who is, I want you to know there is hope. The Mayo Clinic Acclaim cochlear implant trial is one chapter in a much longer story, and the story is being written right now. Follow along here for updates on the trial, the device, and what living with a fully implanted cochlear implant is actually like.
Envoy Medical’s Acclaim: https://www.envoymedical.com/acclaim-cochlear-implant