With all of the fascinating technology being developed on a near-daily basis, hearing aids seem – and have become – thoroughly modern devices. However, the history of hearing aids stretches back several decades, to a brilliant physicist and author named Harvey Fletcher.

Fletcher’s prototypical hearing aids were worn on the body, and consisted of an ear mold connected to a case about the size of a deck of playing cards. This case was connected to the mold via a loop, and attached to the belt or pocket of the wearer. Because of their great size, they were capable of great feats of amplification; through their bulkiness and unwieldiness they have been replaced  by “behind the ear” hearing aids. Still, for the time, they represented a watershed moment in hearing amplification.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids are tubes that wrap, fittingly enough, behind the ear of the hearing loss sufferer. They provide sound through air conduction through this length of tubing. Because they keep the ear open, they allow the user to retain use of whatever hearing they have left, and are therefore appropriate for those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss.

Hearing  aid technology progressed further with the development of In-The-Ear (ITE) hearing aids. These devices go directly into the ear canal. Further advancements have created digital hearing aids that are programmable and can come with a number of exciting and helpful accessories.

Even less obtrusive in every-day conversation are implantable hearing aids. These aids can be implanted directly into the bone of people who suffer from hearing loss, in a procedure that can be recovered from in mere hours. Extended-wear hearing aids have also been introduced, allowing hearing loss sufferers to hear clearly on a daily basis without worrying about taking an aid in or out frequently.

The history of hearing aids is fascinating, and ever changing. The sheer amount of accumulated knowledge that has resulted in the modern class of hearing loss technology is astounding.

Like any hearing aid, analog hearing aids come in many different styles and sizes–from behind the ear to inside the canal hearing aids.

Analog hearing aids were among the first successful electrical hearing aids and are basically a sound amplifier. They takes sound waves and amplifies them, making them more audible to the hearer. Analog hearing aids make it simple to adjust the volume. Using an analog hearing aid gives you more control over the noise volume–if it is too loud, you can lower the volume and if it’s to quiet, you can raise it. This is good for anyone who deals with a predictable noise levels-–conversation, general background noise, or even watching television. They’re a good option for someone who doesn’t tend to travel much or end up in noisy environments. These are the obvious benefits, but there are also some drawbacks as well.

The analog hearing aid does pose some problems –it doesn’t just amplify noise you’d want to hear but can’t, it also amplifies noise you can still hear and that don’t need to. You might turn up your hearing aid to hear a conversation better, and end up getting an earful of background noise instead. And because the hearing aid can’t adjust itself automatically, many users end up endlessly fiddling with it as the changing levels of  nearby noise. Adjusting the volume can sometimes lead to  loud screeching shrills.

Analog hearing aids are still available on the market today, even though digital hearing aids are much more popular–especially for people who have only recently developed hearing loss. For now, analog hearing aids still have their fans – and for many years, they were the best option to combating hearing loss.