Prof. Prof. h.c. Dr. med. Thomas Lenarz

Prof. Prof. h.c. Dr. med. Thomas Lenarz is a world-renowned otorhinolaryngologist, otologist, and neurotologist and one of the internationally defining pioneers of modern auditory implant medicine. For more than three decades, he has played a major role in shaping the clinical, scientific, and technological development of cochlear implants, auditory brainstem implants, and other implantable hearing systems.

After almost 33 years as Director of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Hannover Medical School (MHH), Prof. Lenarz now heads the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the INI – International Neuroscience Institute® Hannover. He has been closely associated with the INI since its foundation and served from the outset as a Consultant in otorhinolaryngology, otology, and auditory implant medicine. Since November 2025, he has also held the position of Senior Professor at Hannover Medical School.

Under his longstanding leadership, the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at MHH developed into one of the internationally leading centers for hearing medicine and auditory implants. Its cochlear implant program became the largest program of its kind worldwide, combining highly specialized patient care with basic research, clinical research, engineering, and the development of new implant technologies.

Education and Academic Career

Prof. Lenarz studied medicine and biochemistry at the Universities of Tübingen, Erlangen, and Heidelberg from 1975 to 1981, complemented by a period of study at University College London. He passed his medical state examination in 1981 and received his medical doctorate from Heidelberg University.

From 1981 to 1986, he completed his specialist training in otorhinolaryngology at the University Department of Otorhinolaryngology in Heidelberg. He subsequently served as a Senior Physician and headed the section of Audiology and Neurotology, where he was already involved in establishing the cochlear implant program.

In 1987, Prof. Lenarz completed his habilitation with experimental research into the neuropharmacology of the auditory system. In the same year, this work was recognized with the Samuel Moos Award for the best habilitation thesis of the Medical Faculty at Heidelberg University.

From 1988 to 1989, Prof. Lenarz was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where his research focused on electrophysiological and morphological aspects of cochlear implantation in children as well as experimental models of tinnitus.

From 1989 to 1993, he served as Senior Attending Physician at the University Department of Otorhinolaryngology in Tübingen and headed the sections of Otology, Audiology, and Neurotology. During this period, he was already involved in the development of a fully implantable hearing system.

In 1992, Prof. Lenarz was appointed to the Chair of Otorhinolaryngology at Hannover Medical School. On February 1, 1993, he became Professor and Director of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at MHH, a position he held for almost 33 years until 2025.

Auditory Implants and the International Development of Hearing Medicine

A central focus of his life’s work has been the restoration of hearing through implantable neuroprostheses. His scientific and clinical work spans cochlear implants, implantable hearing aids and middle-ear implants, as well as central auditory implants targeting the brainstem and midbrain.

Prof. Lenarz has played a major role in the advancement of cochlear implantation. Under his leadership in Hannover, new electrode concepts, surgical techniques, audiological strategies, and technological systems were developed and translated into clinical practice. His work has contributed to the treatment of patients ranging from children born deaf to adults with severe or profound hearing loss.

Prof. Lenarz is also one of the international pioneers of central auditory implants. His work encompasses the Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI) and the Auditory Midbrain Implant (AMI), as well as innovative approaches designed to directly stimulate neural structures within the auditory system.

Today, he is continuing this development through new neural auditory implants and neurointerfaces. These include the Auditory Nerve Implant (ANI), in which highly miniaturized electrodes directly stimulate the auditory nerve. This work brings together otologic surgery, neurosurgery, neuroscience, microelectronics, and neuroprosthetics and may open new therapeutic perspectives for patients in whom established auditory implants cannot provide adequate hearing rehabilitation.

Building Internationally Leading Research Structures

In 2003, Prof. Lenarz founded the German Hearing Center Hannover (Deutsches HörZentrum Hannover, DHZ) with the objective of integrating diagnostics, treatment, rehabilitation, and clinical research for patients with hearing disorders within a single specialized center.

He has also initiated and led numerous major research networks at the interface of medicine, neuroscience, and engineering. These include the Institute for Audioneurotechnology and Nanobiomaterials (VIANNA), the Lower Saxony Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Implant Research and Development (NIFE), the Translational Biomedical Engineering Research Center at Fraunhofer ITEM, as well as numerous research programs supported by the German Research Foundation, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the European Union.

From 2013 onward, Prof. Lenarz served as clinical spokesperson for the Hearing4all Cluster of Excellence, bringing together scientists from medicine, audiology, neuroscience, physics, and engineering to advance personalized hearing systems and future technologies for hearing rehabilitation.

His research encompasses the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of hearing disorders; the design and development of auditory implants; regeneration and protection of the inner ear; clinical audiology; local pharmacological treatment of the inner ear; and computer- and robot-assisted surgery.

Scientific Work and Academic Leadership

Prof. Lenarz is the author or co-author of more than 960 peer-reviewed scientific publications in otology, neurotology, audiology, hearing research, auditory implants, and auditory neuroprosthetics. In addition, he has contributed numerous book chapters, scientific monographs, review articles, and presentations at national and international scientific congresses. He is therefore also among the particularly prolific scientific contributors in his field.

His research consistently combines basic science, clinical research, engineering, and medical technology with the translation of new technologies into patient care.

Prof. Lenarz has served on the editorial and advisory boards of numerous international scientific journals, including Otology & Neurotology, European Archives of Otorhinolaryngology, Cochlear Implants International, and Journal of Hearing Science.

He has also held numerous national and international scientific leadership positions. Among others, he has served as President of the European Federation of Audiological Societies (EFAS), President of the German Society of Audiology (DGA), President of the German Skull Base Society, President of the German Society for Computer- and Robot-Assisted Surgery (CURAC), and Chairman of the German Society for Biomedical Engineering (DGBMT). From 2022 to 2023, he served as President of the North German Society of Otorhinolaryngology.

In addition, he has held leading positions within the European Academy of Otology & Neurotology (EAONO), the European Skull Base Society, and other national and international scientific organizations.

Academies and Awards

Since 2013, Prof. Lenarz has been a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He is also a member of the German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), where he has contributed particularly to the field of advanced healthcare technologies. He additionally holds international and corresponding memberships in scientific and medical societies.

Prof. Lenarz has received numerous national and international distinctions for his clinical and scientific achievements. These include the Samuel Moos Award, the Alfred Mann Foundation Award for Scientific Achievement, the Prof. Dr. Ludwig Haymann Award, an Honorary Professorship from Iran University of Medical Sciences, the Honorary Ring of the City of Garbsen, and Honorary Membership of the German Society of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

In 2022, he was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Lower Saxony Order of Merit in recognition of his outstanding contributions to hearing rehabilitation in children and adults.

Otorhinolaryngology and Auditory Implant Medicine at the INI

Prof. Lenarz has been associated with the INI since its foundation. Following many years of service as a Consultant, he assumed leadership of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the INI after completing his almost 33-year tenure as Director of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Hannover Medical School.

At the INI, he combines his decades of experience in otology, neurotology, and auditory implant medicine with the institute’s particular expertise in neurosurgery and neuroscience. A major focus is the treatment of complex disorders at the interface between the ear, auditory nerve, brainstem, and central auditory system.

The close integration of otorhinolaryngology, neurosurgery, neurophysiology, hearing research, and neurotechnology provides a unique environment for developing the next generation of implantable hearing and neurostimulation systems.

With almost five decades of clinical and scientific work, nearly 33 years leading one of the internationally most prominent academic departments of otorhinolaryngology, more than 600 peer-reviewed publications, and fundamental contributions to the development of cochlear, brainstem, and other auditory implants, Prof. Thomas Lenarz is regarded as one of the world’s defining figures in modern otology, neurotology, and auditory implant medicine.