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Who Invented the Hearing Aid?

People throughout the ages have used whatever means they could to amplify sound, with mixed results. In the 19th century, a series of improvements on pre-existing devices led to the development of the modern hearing aid.

  1. Early Hearing Aids

    • The first hearing aids helped amplify sound through a hand-held trumpet or horn. They were made of animal horns, wood or metal.

    First Patent

    • According to MyHearingAids.net, Englishman Alphonsus William Webster received the first patent for a hearing aid in 1836. His invention was a curved earpiece to be worn behind the ear to help amplify sound.

    Hearing Device

    • In 1880 R.G. Rhodes was granted a patent for a device that helped conduct sound to the auditory nerve by placing a piece of cardboard or rubber against the teeth.

    Electric Hearing Aids

    • Americans M.G. Foster and Francis D. Clarke received a patent for the first electric hearing aid in 1880. The Device for Aiding the Deaf to Hear amplified sound to help vibrations reach the inner ear.

    Acousticon

    • Miller Reese Hutchinson invented the Acousticon, a precursor of today's electric hearing aid, in 1901.

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