Los estudiantes de medicina más nuevos de la Oregon Health & Science University esperan pacientemente en una ceremonia en la que simbólicamente se ponen sus batas blancas por primera vez. (OHSU/Christine Torres Hicks)

Pamela Runner, 77, of Corvallis, Oregon, smiles after having the external components of her new cochlear implant placed on the side of her head and around her ear for the first time on Jan. 12, 2024, at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU/Franny White)

Oregon Health & Science University surgeon Jay Gantz, M.D., Ph.D., top left, speaks with Pamela Runner, 77, of Corvallis, Oregon, bottom left, on Jan. 12, 2024, shortly after Runner’s new cochlear implant was turned on for the first time. Her husband, Steve Runner, top right, and OHSU audiologist Jennifer Fowler, Au.D., CCC-A, bottom right, listen to the conversation in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU/Franny White)

Pamela Runner, 77, of Corvallis, Oregon, hears her husband speak through a cochlear implant on Jan. 12, 2024, as her new electronic hearing device is turned on for the first time at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU/Franny White)

Pamela Runner, 77, of Corvallis, Oregon, hears her husband speak through a cochlear implant on Jan. 12, 2024, as her new electronic hearing device is turned on for the first time at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU/Franny White)

Oregon Health & Science University audiologist Jennifer Fowler, Au.D., CCC-A, explains the external components of a cochlear implant on Jan. 12, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU/Franny White)

Pamela Runner, 77, of Corvallis, Oregon, left, meets with Oregon Health & Science University audiologist Jennifer Fowler, Au.D., CCC-A, on Jan. 12, 2024, to have Runner’s new cochlear implant turned on for the first time in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU/Franny White)

Pamela Runner, 77, of Corvallis, Oregon, hears her husband speak through a cochlear implant on Jan. 12, 2024, as her new electronic hearing device is turned on for the first time at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. (OHSU/Franny White)