When it comes to history, there are three different types of people: those who find history to be incredibly fascinating, individuals who think history is horribly boring, and those who believe history is full of aliens.
The history of hearing aids is not about aliens (sorry not sorry). But it’s most likely a lot stranger than you might think. After all, hearing loss isn’t really a new thing; it’s been around as long as humans have. People have, consequently, been trying to come up with new effective ways to cope with hearing loss since the beginning of our existence.
An appreciation for your amazing little digital devices, their functionality, and why it’s important to use them, can be gained by knowing some history about them.
For thousands of years, people have been dealing with hearing loss
Evidence of hearing loss dating back to the very beginning of human existence has been found by archaeologists. They can detect indicators of ear pathologies in fossil evidence. It’s rather amazing! Civilizations such as the Egyptians and even older groups were reporting hearing loss for as long as writing has existed.
Obviously, hearing loss isn’t new. And it wasn’t any better then than it is now (this is particularly true because it was harder to treat then). Communication will be much harder if you have neglected hearing loss. Friends and loved ones may become more distant. In a more “hunter and gatherer” style of society, you might also lose your ability to detect danger (leading to a shorter lifespan).
Humans, thus, have had a great incentive to deal with hearing loss for thousands of years. And they’ve even managed some great successes!
A timeline of hearing aid-type devices
It’s significant to mention that we don’t have a complete history of the hearing aid. Not all evidence of hearing devices is documented through time. Even if we don’t have a published record of exactly what ancient people did to relieve hearing loss, it’s very likely that they took steps in that direction.
But here’s what we do know about the known hearing aid timeline:
- 1200s: Animal Horns: Hollowed out animal horns served as some of the first proto-hearing aids. People probably used this device to amplify sound and reduce the impact of hearing loss and evidence of this type of device goes back to the 1200s. Sound would be more directly carried to the ear with the funnel shaped horn. Clearly, this device isn’t working like a modern hearing aid because there’s no amplification. But it’s likely they provided some reasonable ability to reduce distracting sounds.
- 1600s: Ear Trumpet: The “cone shaped” hearing aid was the dominant format for hundreds of years. These “ear trumpets” continued to be a popular way to manage hearing loss throughout the seventeenth century. They were called “ear trumpets” because, well, that’s what they looked like. You’d stick the small end in your ear. You could get them made out of a variety of materials (and with a startling variety of shapes). At first, they were large and cumbersome. Subsequently, more portable models that could be carried around with you were developed. Once again, these weren’t very efficient, because they couldn’t amplify sounds. But they could carry sound more directly to your ear.
- 1900s: Electronic Amplification: In the late 1800s, the carbon microphone was invented but wouldn’t be implemented into hearing aid technology until early the 1900s. Their ability to amplify should have made hearing aids effective and practical, right? Not really. In the early 1900s, these devices were huge, and not exactly wearable. The technology would need quite a bit of refinement before it would be very useful.
- 1920s: Wearable Hearing Devices: Then came vacuum tubes! The same technology that energized those old, extremely bulky television sets was actually cutting edge, once upon a time! These vacuum tubes permitted (relatively) smaller, wearable hearing aids to be made, the size of a backpack. New technologies also allowed better amplification and slightly clearer sound.
- 1940s: Pocket-Sized Hearing Aids: From fitting a hearing aid in a backpack to being capable of putting one in your purse or pocket, it’s a significant leap! The same effect was now available with less cumbersome technology as a result of the development of the transistor. It became a substantial advantage, as a result of this technology, to bring your hearing aid with you wherever you went.
- 1970s and 1980s: Hearing Aids Get Smaller: As technologies improved, hearing aids became smaller. The 1970s and 80s, particularly, saw a considerable decrease in the size of hearing aids. This made them easier to use, and more popular. The amplification, sadly, was still very basic. These hearing aids essentially just made everything louder. Most people need something a little more fine tuned to address their hearing loss, but it was still better than nothing.
- 1982: Digital Hearing Aid: While not fully adopted and commercially introduced until 1996, 1982 was the year of the first digital hearing aid. Digital hearing aids were a game changer, they offered improved sound quality, more ways to customize amplification, and the ability to pack everything into a smaller package. Treatment for hearing loss has become more effective since the development of digital hearing aid.
- 2000s (and Beyond): Hearing Aids Get Wireless and Smart: Since the introduction of the digital hearing aid, manufacturers have been able to cram more and more technology into these tiny devices. This started with Bluetooth wireless connectivity. And today, modern hearing aids will utilize machine learning algorithms to help you hear better than ever. This integration with other technologies makes hearing aids more effective, and more convenient!
History’s best hearing aids
For hundreds of years or longer, we have been working on managing hearing loss.
Modern hearing aids can accomplish that better than at any time in the history of humanity. These little pieces of technology are more prevalent than they ever have been because they’re so beneficial. A wide range of hearing issues can be managed.
So if you want to get back to connecting with your kids or your loved ones or the cashier at the supermarket, hearing aids can help you do it. (See? No aliens involved.)
Learn how hearing aids can improve your life. Contact us for an appointment.
References
https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/blogs/hearing-aid-history-ear-trumpets-european-royalty-earbuds
https://www.hear-it.org/lighter-smaller-and-better
