a history of hearing devices
The first known hearing aid was crafted sometime in the 17th century. The creation of the telephone opened the door to what we know as the hearing aid today, with the first electric model being created in 1898. As the 20th century drew to a close, the devices were incredibly commonplace, being implemented by a sizable portion of the overall population. Now, those that need devices to help deal with the effects of their hearing loss can get them with relative ease. The invention has come a long way over time.
The earliest hearing device may be the ear trumpet, which was held up to the ear towards the direction of whatever the affected person needed help listening to. There were many versions of the ear trumpet, on the timeline of hearing devices, but it was first widely distributed in London around the year 1800. Frederick C Rein developed the first widespread model of the device alongside several other inventions such as speaking tubes and hearing fans. These were all intended to amplify sound for the user, while retaining at least some degree of portability. The degree to which that was possible at the time was significantly less than today, of course, but the current version of hearing aid technology might not have gotten where it has without Rein's contributions.
More hidden hearing aids came into popularity near the end of the 19th century. Rein was behind many of the leading designs, the acoustic headbands in particular. These were able to hide the actual hearing device within a piece of headgear that could be concealed by the hair. He also developed head bands known as Aurolese Phones, where collectors located near the ears took in and amplified sound. At one point, there were hearing aids even being built into different types of clothing and even seating such as couches. Rein was pushed by his own hearing issues to find the most hidden support possible to "fit in" more, rather than subject himself to ridicule over a disability.
The first electronic hearing devices were introduced near the end of the 1880s. The telephone and microphone were invented around the same time, so a device able to electronically amplify sound was a natural corresponding invention. The technology that was created for the telephone assisted in changing to what degree an acoustic signal could be subject to alteration. Loudness, distortion, and frequency could suddenly all be adjusted, and all of those factors play a large part in the effectiveness of the modern hearing aid.
The Akouphone, released in 1898, was the first official electric hearing aid. It was the first listening device of its type to employ a carbon transmitter, which allowed it the advantage of being fully portable. This was a major innovation at the time. The transmitter could take weak signals and boost them significantly, helping to make up for weakness in a person's natural hearing range. With that, the grounds for the modern hearing aid were in place. Now, they can be well hidden, blending with the ear quite seamlessly if not completely. The audio quality is also increasing at a steady rate. It's been a long progression, but there's no denying that the journey of the hearing aid from its earliest stages to now is truly impressive.
The earliest hearing device may be the ear trumpet, which was held up to the ear towards the direction of whatever the affected person needed help listening to. There were many versions of the ear trumpet, on the timeline of hearing devices, but it was first widely distributed in London around the year 1800. Frederick C Rein developed the first widespread model of the device alongside several other inventions such as speaking tubes and hearing fans. These were all intended to amplify sound for the user, while retaining at least some degree of portability. The degree to which that was possible at the time was significantly less than today, of course, but the current version of hearing aid technology might not have gotten where it has without Rein's contributions.
More hidden hearing aids came into popularity near the end of the 19th century. Rein was behind many of the leading designs, the acoustic headbands in particular. These were able to hide the actual hearing device within a piece of headgear that could be concealed by the hair. He also developed head bands known as Aurolese Phones, where collectors located near the ears took in and amplified sound. At one point, there were hearing aids even being built into different types of clothing and even seating such as couches. Rein was pushed by his own hearing issues to find the most hidden support possible to "fit in" more, rather than subject himself to ridicule over a disability.
The first electronic hearing devices were introduced near the end of the 1880s. The telephone and microphone were invented around the same time, so a device able to electronically amplify sound was a natural corresponding invention. The technology that was created for the telephone assisted in changing to what degree an acoustic signal could be subject to alteration. Loudness, distortion, and frequency could suddenly all be adjusted, and all of those factors play a large part in the effectiveness of the modern hearing aid.
The Akouphone, released in 1898, was the first official electric hearing aid. It was the first listening device of its type to employ a carbon transmitter, which allowed it the advantage of being fully portable. This was a major innovation at the time. The transmitter could take weak signals and boost them significantly, helping to make up for weakness in a person's natural hearing range. With that, the grounds for the modern hearing aid were in place. Now, they can be well hidden, blending with the ear quite seamlessly if not completely. The audio quality is also increasing at a steady rate. It's been a long progression, but there's no denying that the journey of the hearing aid from its earliest stages to now is truly impressive.