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First noted hearing aid device
In the 16th Century, hearing aids were described in the work Magic in Nature. They were hearing horns shaped like the ears of animals known to have sharp hearing. -
Speaking trumpet is believed to have been invented
Many people claim to have invented the speaking trumpet, so it is difficult to pinpoint an exact date, but it was first documented in 1634 by the French Jesuit priest and mathematician, Jean Leurechonin. -
Conversation Tube
First manufactured by by Frederick Rein of London in 1800. These devices were made in many shapes and sizes to accommodate different listening situations. They were made from a variety of materials, such as wood, hard rubber, celluloid, and ivory. -
Akoupohne - First Electronic Hearing Device
The first electronic hearing aids were constructed after the invention of the telephone and microphone in the 1870s and 1880s. The first electric hearing aid, called the Akouphone, was created by Miller Reese Hutchison in 1898. It included an attachment similar to a telephone reciever. -
Electric Hearing Aid
Dr. Ferdinand Alt (1867-1923), an assistant at the Politzer Clinic in Vienna, demonstrates his electric hearing aid at the Austrian Otological Society. The hearing device used a magnetic earphone connected to a carbon granule microphone that was fastened on top of a small battery box. Alt noted that his instrument was of little use if the speaker was more than two feet away. -
First wearable vacuum tube hearing device
The first wearable vacuum tube was developed by Walter Huth and introduced in May 1938, This is 30 years after the unwearable vacuum tube was discovered. The vacuum tube used carbon microphones and tube amplifiers. -
Transistor Hearing Aids Developed
Transistors were developed as a replacement for vacuum tubes, which often became too hot to use. The transistors were smaller and used a lower battery voltage than the vacuum tubes. -
Digital hearing aid
The first commercial digital hearing aid was created in 1987 by the Nicolet Corporation. It included a body-worn processor with a hardwire connection with an ear mounted transducer. This first digital hearing aid was not publicly successful but it was able to start a revolution of more effective hearing aids. -
CIC (Completely-in-canl) hearing device developed
CIC hearing devices are introduced by Starkey and Argosy. These were designed to be out of sight and suitable for multiple types of hearing loss.
