The History Of Hearing Aids And How They Have Evolved Over Time

Hearing aids are a fantastic modern tool that help people hear the world around them more clearly. Today, they are available in a range of styles and even come with all kinds of useful features, such as Bluetooth technology. They’re continuing to evolve more and more every year, as well, with more convenient settings becoming readily available. But we haven’t always had hearing aids, and commercially produced hearing aids have only been available for around 100 years. The history of hearing aids and how they have evolved is fascinating and shows us how hearing aids have come to be what they are today.

Hearing Treatments Before Hearing Aids

Before hearing aids, there were other devices that were used to help people with hearing loss hear more clearly. One of these was the hearing or ear trumpet, which was invented in the 17th century. This simple device has a smaller end that is held to the ear and a wider end for capturing sound to help amplify anything that the listener wants to hear. In the 18th century, the collapsible ear trumpet was invented. They were first commercially produced in the early 19th century by Frederick C Rein, who also made acoustic headbands so that the trumpets could be hidden within the wearer’s hair to make them more discreet.

The First Hearing Aids

The invention of the first hearing aids was made possible by the invention of the telephone in 1876. The technology used in the telephone could be applied to hearing aids, although the first electric hearing aid wasn’t invented until more than 20 years after Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone. Miller Reese Hutchison’s 1898 design for a hearing aid amplified weak sound signals using an electric current.

It was only 15 years later, in 1913, when commercially produced hearing aids were finally available. However, they weren’t like the compact devices that we have today and weren’t really designed for wearing on a daily basis or even carrying around. Another advancement came in the 1920s when vacuum tube hearing aids were created to turn speech into electrical signals and amplify them.

Hearing Aids Got Smaller

Post-World War II, when many other types of technology were also in the process of shrinking, hearing aids finally started to become smaller. With the invention of the transistor in 1948, vacuum tubes could be replaced, which helped to make hearing aids smaller. They also required less battery power compared to vacuum tubes and they had lower levels of distortion. Further advancements were made in the next few decades, including the invention of the microprocessor and multi-channel amplitude compression in the 1970s and high-speed processors and microcomputers in the 1980s.

Hearing aids have been evolving rapidly as technology has advanced in the last few decades. In the 1990s, the first completely digital hearing aid was introduced, while Bluetooth hearing aids became widely available about a decade ago.

Hearing Aids Today

Today, hearing aids are smarter than they have ever been before. They are often packed full of features and offer plenty of different options. People who are looking for the right hearing aids can choose between different styles and select features that they want to match their needs and lifestyle.

Hearing aids now offer possibilities such as Bluetooth connectivity, rechargeable batteries, automatic adjusting to different environments, and integration with phones, computers, and other technology. Hearing aids are also smaller than ever, with some styles being so small that they are practically invisible when they are worn.

Not only have hearing aids come a long way since they were first invented, but they are continuing to get better too. As hearing aid technology keeps advancing, they’re likely to keep getting even smaller and even more capable of doing amazing things.

Hearing aids have evolved over time to become what they are today. It might have taken a long time before the first hearing aids were created, but once the technology began to advance, they rapidly became much more sophisticated. It’s interesting to think about what the first hearing devices were like and how lucky we are today to have such advanced technology that can help to improve the lives of people with hearing loss. If you think that hearing aids could be helpful for you or a loved one, you can speak to an audiologist about how they could improve your life.

Find out more about your hearing aid options from Memphis Audiology. Call our office at 901-708-2916 to speak to a member of our friendly team and learn about how hearing aids could help you.