Ernst Lehnhardt (* 1924)
Period of office: 1969-1993
Submission of Habilitation (postdoctoral thesis required for qualification as a university lecturer) in Rostock under W. Hesse
1968 Appointment to a position in Hannover
1993 Award of emeritus status

Ernst Lehnhardt was born in Crivitz in the German state of Mecklenburg. After studying human and dental medicine in Rostock he became a student of Walter Hesse. In 1960 he went to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the Charité hospital in Berlin to work as a senior physician under K. Fleischer. In 1961, after East Berlin and East Germany were closed off to the West, he moved to Hamburg to work under Rudolf Link. In 1968 he was offered a position at the new Medical University of Hannover. Although Lehnhardt’s scientific publications cover a wide range of topics within his field, their main emphasis clearly lies in the realm of audiology and its clinical relevance. He developed his monography on audiology, which was originally conceived by Bernhard Langebeck as a textbook, into a comprehensive standard work. After Lehnhardt was awarded emeritus status in 1993, Thomas Lenarz from Tubingen was appointed his successor.

Thomas Lenarz (* 1956)
1987 Submission of Habilitation (postdoctoral thesis required for qualification as a university lecturer) in Heidelberg under H. G. Boenninghaus
1993 Appointment to a position in Hannover

Thomas Lenarz was born in Darmstadt. He received his initial training under Hans Georg Boenninghaus in Heidelberg, where he submitted his Habilitation (postdoctoral thesis required for qualification as a university lecturer). In 1989 he left Heidelberg and went to Tubingen to work under Hans-Peter Zenner. His scientific focus was on inner ear research, and he wrote books (and contributions to other works) on cochlear implants, otoacoustic emissions, electrical auditory brainstem responses and tinnitus. His clinical emphasis includes otosurgery with implants, skull base surgery and surgery on the inner auditory canal. The cochlear implant procedures were further developed by Professor Lehnhardt and his team. He founded the world’s first “Cochlear Implant Centre” (CIC) for the rehabilitation of cochlear implanted children, aimed at enhancing provision of speech therapy and other follow-up pedagogical care. Under Professor Lenarz the Department has, in close collaboration with the device manufacturers, developed into the world’s largest cochlear implant centre. With the aid of this technology, more than 3,000 patients have been opened up to the world of hearing.