firsts

Hearing Fan

The hearing fan was used by holding the fan between the teeth. Fan tension could be adjusted by strings attached to the back of the fan. Sound waves striking the fan were conducted through the teeth, and thus the skull bones, to stimulate the cochlea. It was not a very efficient means of amplification even for strictly conductive hearing losses.

Dahlberg D-14

The Dahlberg D-14 eyeglass hearing aid, also called the "Solar-Ear". Introduced in May 1958. You can see the selenium metal strip on top of the temple piece used to power the aid. The unit could store solar energy for several days before needing to be recharged. It used a # 625 battery as a backup power source.

Ossiphone

The Ossiphone was invented in 1922 by S.G. Brown and was used to massage the ear via bone conduction. The telegraph type key was held against the mastoid bone area and as an alternative, a pipe stem attachment was available for placement between the teeth.

Confessionaire

This was a hearing aid used by the priest and his congregation during confession. The hearing impaired confessor would hold the receiver to his ear with the rest of the device placed toward the priest. It was made by confessional hearing aid company of Port Washington, NY.

Beoton Horbugel

The Horbugel was manufactured in Germany in 1956. It consisted of a headband style hearing aid. The microphone and amplifier are located on top of the head with a standard receiver and cord.

Globe Vactuphone

Globe "Vactuphone" (VACuum TUbe TelePHONE), 1921. Made to order by Western Electric Company for Globe. The case was designed as an early era box camera (note the false lens) to aid in cosmetic appeal. The design attracted interest from the U.S. secret service whom requested to use it for its agents.

Maico 25-A

The Maico 25-A was a table aid or could be used as an auditory trainer. It has a binaural output with separate volume controls. It was equipped with a vacuum tube amplifier and a hand held external microphone.

Primo Ph-3k

The Primo Ph-3k was manufactured in 1959 in Japan. The hearing aid came unassembled and consisted of various components, a case and instructions on how to solder along with the tools needed to assemble the aid.

Struycken Monochord

The Struycken Monochord is a non-electrical device that was used to assess the frequency limits of hearing via both air and bone conduction. For air conduction, the instrument was held in front of the ear canal. For bone conduction, the monochord was held against the mastoid bone behind the ear. The length and tension of the wire string was adjusted to produce various frequencies.

Aurex PA Personal Amplifier

The Aurex PA was manufactured in 1949. It was one-piece and composed of a vacuum tube with an RM3 and 208 batteries. The aid was held to the ear with a rubber ear tip inserted into the canal.

Telephone Amplifier

An example of an early telephone amplifier, manufactured in 1930. It was a large desktop-sized case 35.1 X 21 X 20 cm. It contained two large vacuum tubes. Only two instruments were made by Mr. Fanly in Columbus, OH.

Wrist Ear

The Wrist Ear had two options for the microphone to make the hearing aid less conspicuous. The two designs manufactured in 1949, were a microphone located on a wristband and a brooch. A long cord was used to reach one of several Acousticon body style hearing aids.

Panasonic WH-O1

This hearing aid was placed inside of a pen casing designed to be worn in the pocket. It used one AAA battery. The microphone was in the top of the pen with volume control and function mode switch near the pen clip. It had an external receiver.

Earmaster

The Earmaster was manufactured in 1965 and contained an integrated circuit. The custom made in-the-ear hearing aid was molded into a gold casing to increase cosmetic appeal.