Monika Lehnhardt-Goriany was born in Vienna and graduated from the University Alma Mater Rudolfina. She obtained her PhD in philology, psychology and philosophy.
During her professional career she has held various positions in German, American and Swedish companies. 1987 she established Cochlear Europe in Basel, Switzerland. She gained broad experience in all aspects of treatment for hearing impaired people – various products (e.g. cochlear implants, bone conduction hearing aids, middle ear implants), surgical interventions, audiological services (e.g. hearing screenings, diagnostics, fitting of speech processors), rehabilitation concepts and methods and economical aspects (cost-effectiveness and cost-utility studies) over a period of more than 20 years.)
Her extensive traveling through Europe, the US, Australia and most countries of CIS strengthened her multi-cultural competence. Her language skills (German, English, Russian, French and Polish) are essential in establishing direct contacts to key opinion people in the field (surgeons, audiologists, speech therapists, surdopedagogs, economists and politicians).
Since 2002, she has been Chairwoman of the Lehnhardt Foundation.
She was also served as a member of the Board of Auditory Verbal International, Inc. (AVI. Inc.).
2007 she established her own company under the name Monsana AG in Basel, Switzerland to help patients find the most suitable clinic / surgeon / medical doctor in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
In July 2007 she was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor by the International Academy of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, St. Petersburg.
She lectures at scientific conferences and organizes congresses for professionals and parents of children with cochlear implants and / or hearing aids. She is a published author on various topics related to CI. She has also contributed to the development of educational and training material: the QESWHIC Project (Qualification of Educational Staff Working with Hearing Impaired Children, 2002-2005) under the sponsorship of the European Community as one of the Comenius actions – see https://lehnhardt-stiftung.org/resource-center/
In 2006 the Lehnhardt Academy initiated a similar project – HICEN (Hearing Impaired Children – Elementary Needs in preschool care and education) – see https://earbook.online/hicen
In 2009 Monika Lehnhardt-Goriany inaugurated PORA! The HICEN material has been translated into Russian and made accessible online. The innovative aspect is the use of a weblog and a LiveOnline Room, in which participants from all over the world can see and discuss presentations by the authors and exchange their experience. The other novelty is that parents are invited to actively participate in this teaching and learning process – see https://earbook.online/pora/ru/en/
Since 2020 she plays a leading role in implementing two clinic partnership projects with GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation):
- “Cochlear Implant and Long-Term Care for Deaf Children” 08.2020-12.2022 (Kyrgyzstan)
- “Neonatal Hearing Screening and Early Intervention” 02.2021-01.2024 (Kyrgyzstan)
- “Establishment of Newborn Hearing Screening in 4 Clinics & Professional Parent Counseling via Hotline” 02.2022-12.2024 (Ukraine)
Publications:
2020 Leo De Raeve, Sue Archbold, Monika Lehnhardt-Goriany & Tricia Kemp Prevalence of cochlear implants in Europe: trend between 2010 and 2016, Cochlear Implants International, 21:5, 275-280, DOI: 10.1080/14670100.2020.1771829 https://doi.org/10.1080/14670100.2020.1771829
2021 Monika Lehnhardt-Goriany Viele sprechen von Nachhaltigkeit – wir praktizieren sie, Schnecke, Juli 2021 https://www.schnecke-online.de/themen/gesundheit/lehnhardt-stiftung-nachhaltigkeit
She gave more than 100 presentations in congresses worldwide, some of which are accessible in the Internet.