Speak Up! The History Of Hearing Aids


As long as there have been human beings, there have been those who couldnt hear as well as others. Long ago, most reasons a person couldnt hear usually was due to injury or illness. Very few people made it past 30. When people were able to get old enough to go deaf due to age and not trauma, then the history of hearing aids began.

Trumpets And Horns

The hand cupped behind the ear was likely the beginning of the history of hearing aids. Technically, the outer ear is shaped like a cupped hand, trapping sound and channeling it to the organs that actually do the hearing in the inner ear. But the hand cupped behind the ear brings the sound even more directly to the ear. Once that was figured out, then the history of hearing aids made specifically to amplify faint sounds began.

The first made hearing aids were most likely seashells, hollowed out animal horns or tubes of bark. The first ones were most likely quite fragile, and it took centuries of trial and error before sturdier ones could be made. When they were made of metal or flexible tubing, they were shaped like trumpets and bells. Sometimes it looked as if the deaf person was putting an oversized pipe in his or her ear.

The history of hearing aids is about making sounds louder than they probably really are. Some of the oldest surviving hearing aids are from the 1700s. One of the most famous users of a hearing aid trumpet was the great composer Beethoven, although it did not prevent him from becoming completely deaf.

Not much changed in the history of hearing aids during the 1800s, except that the horns looked more like musical horns or rams horns than a pipe. A popular hearing aid of the time was called the London Dome and came in many sizes and outer ornamentation.

Changes

About 1899, the most advanced hearing aids in the world ran on carbon batteries. They looked a bit like the first telephones, large and with a lot of wires. The batteries usually lasted only about twelve hours. The whole contraption was worn as a large necklace. Even an electric version that came out in the 1920s did little to improve things.

The real turning point in the history of hearing aids came in the 1950s with electric transistor hearing aids. Now hearing aids were smaller, lighter and more reliable. As their name implied, they worked using the same technology of transistor radios.

In 1984, digital technology produced the latest wave of hearing aids.

Donate Hearing Aids

You may begin to avoid certain social situations to prevent potential embarrassment from your inability to hear others.

The open fit hearing aids are generally used for those with high frequency hearing loss, usually associated with some type of injury that can include exposure to loud sounds over a period of time. There are charitable organizations that collect, sterilize and distribute used hearing aids for needy recipients. The Neckloop helps to reduce the static and buzz that is caused by digital phones, which occurs when they are placed too closely to hearing aid devices. This works because the amplifier and microphone adjust the digitally enhanced sound, however you do have to keep in mind that the digital hearing aids tend to cost a bit more than the conventional options, although the quality and ease of life that you are offered with them is well worth it. The Motorola neck loop for hearing aids is an excellent product for people who have hearing aids and who have any brand of cell phone, as it is compatible with almost all models, and it comes with a standard 2.

The signal is then transferred to the hearing aid which converts it into sound.
In the past, if you didnt want the telephone receiver squealing in your ear, you had to take your aids out, and risk not being able to hear at all. While these devices can be extremely helpful for those with hearing loss to enjoy a higher quality of life, many avoid using hearing aids because they are unsure about how well these units really work. They also have to have HAC compatible labels prominently displayed on them. You will be given several hearing tests to define precisely what noises you can and cant hear.

As of this writing (July 3, 2007), hearing aids cost a small fortune.
There may be some wholesalers that use the FDA approval on one or more items at a higher price and then offer models without the approval selling as discount hearing aids. If you have a child that has mild to severe hearing loss, you know how this condition can affect many aspects of his development and learning. A second type of BTE has become available in recent years, called the open fit hearing aid.