The evolution of hearing aids in history is a story that stretches from the 17th century ear trumpet to the modern day microprocessor.

One constant, from the Industrial Revolution to the Internet generation, is the ability of hearing aid manufacturers to adapt emerging technology into their devices. Technological triumphs of the likes of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Silicon Valley visionaries have always found a way into improving devices.

Key Milestones in Hearing Aid History

The earliest hearing aids were bulky ear trumpets that were made of everything from snail shells to animal horns. The most famous ear trumpet was used by Ludwig van Beethoven around 1810 and can be found today in the Beethoven Museum in Bonn, Germany.

Thanks to inventors such as Edison and others, things started to rapidly change in the late 19th century:

  • The invention of the telephone and microphone led to the first electronic hearing aids. In 1898 Miller Reese Hutchison created the Akouphone using a carbon transmitter. The device was portable but still fairly large.
  • The invention of vacuum tubes in 1904 would lead eventually to radio and television technology as well as smaller hearing aids in the 1920s and 1930s.
  • Bell Laboratories developed transistors in 1948 which led to hearing aids that were smaller with less distortion and had on/off switches.
  • The dawning of the digital age of the 1960s not only launched man into space but opened the door for the modern hearing aid. In the 1970s microprocessors pioneers fine-tuned multi-channel amplitude compression which led to the commercial production of digital hearing aids in the 1980s and the first all-digital hearing aids by 1995.

Hearing Aids in the 21st Century

Since the year 2000, personal device technology has rapidly accelerated with smartphones, smartwatches, and virtual personal assistants changing the way people interact with the world.

Hearing aids reflect this innovative trend with devices that are programmable with settings for every type of listening environment and new hearing aids can adjust on their own for sound quality and background noise.

Each year brings devices that are even smaller and more precise.

There are hearing aids for consumers that meet a wide variety of performance and cosmetic needs. Experienced hearing aid clients can opt for the latest technology with a custom-fit invisible device, or the wireless and the smallest Completely In Canal hearing aid on the market today offering everything from better wireless streaming to a personalized listening experience. Our complete line of products includes solutions for any candidate for hearing aids.

If you or a loved one is in the market for your first hearing aid or if you are looking for a device upgrade, contact us today for a free consultation with one of our hearing loss experts. We stay on the cutting edge of technology advances to bring the highest quality devices to you.