Gilmour's Cochlear Implant Fund

Please help this general surgery resident afford his medically necessary cochlear implant!

Morgan Gilmour is a general surgery resident in Wichita, KS. One night several months ago while on his 24 hour trauma shift, he experienced sudden sensorineural deafness in his left ear. Despite the standard steroid treatment, his profound deafness was permanent.

People are made to hear with two ears, and the loss of one side means that everything sounds different to Gilmour, including the sound of his newborn son's coos and laughs. He cannot localize sound (just like the loss of an eye results in a lack of depth perception). He also struggles with background noise filtration. There is a solution. 

Cochlear implants have been extensively studied in the unilaterally deaf population, and found to be a highly successful treatment. (1-5) They help people like Gilmour localize sound, filter background noise, and improve perception of sound quality. Cochlear implants have received FDA approval as treatment for single sided deafness. (6)

Unfortunately, Gilmour's insurance (along with many other insurances) have not caught up with the science and they consider a cochlear implant for single sided deafness not medically necessary. This infuriating decision felt to Gilmour much like telling a person who had lost an eye that they couldn't have surgery because they had one good eye. How preposterous! The need to hear with two ears is well documented in medical literature.

Please support Gilmour in his goal to pay for his cochlear implant, continue to serve the Wichita community as a general surgery resident, and hopefully clearly hear his little son's giggle for the first time.

Gilmour's cochlear implant surgery is scheduled for August 24. Some payment is required up-front, but the rest will be paid over the course of several subsequent months. The final amount due is subject to change. Any excess funds received will be donated to efforts that raise awareness of the medical necessity of cochlear implants and work to change insurance policies to reflect the current science. Gilmour pledges not to keep a single cent of your donation beyond what is needed to pay for his surgery and follow up medical care. Thank you!


1. Dillon MT, et al. Low-Frequency Pitch Perception in Cochlear Implant Recipients with Normal Hearing in the 
Contralateral Ear. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2019;62(8):2860-71.
2. Dillon MT, et al. Effect of Cochlear Implantation on Quality of Life in Adults with Unilateral Hearing Loss. 
Audiol Neurotol 2017;22:259-71.
3. Zeitler DM, Dorman MF. Cochlear Implantation for Single-Sided Deafness: A New Treatment Paradigm. J 
Neurol Surg B Skull Base 2019;80(2):178-86.
4. Buss E, et al. Effects of Cochlear Implantation on Binaural Hearing in Adults with Unilateral Hearing Loss. 
Trends in Hearing 2018;22:1-15.
5. Sommerfelt, et al, “Cochlear Implantation in the Active Duty Military Population” Otology & Neurotology: April 2021. Vol 24 Issue 4, p549-557
6. FDA Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data. (2019, July 19). Retrieved from FDA website: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf/P000025S104B.pdf