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Invisible vs. Visible (Humongous) Hearing Aids

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A lady wrote,

I think part of the problem is that with invisible hearing aids, our hearing losses are an invisible problem. I think if we had hearing aids as big as wheelchairs it would make people more attuned to the fact that we’re struggling to hear.

You are right of course. But would you want to live back in the times when hearing aids really were visible? For example, consider the Model 1A, the first hearing aid produced by RadioEar back in 1925. Then you really would be struggling. Not only was it not invisible (somewhat smaller than the size of your dining room buffet), but it would be difficult to lug around—weighing in at 185 pounds! Apparently it was a bit much for the ladies, so in 1929 they made some “minor” changes and got the weight down to a svelte 135 pounds! You then could almost put it in a wheelchair to lug it around!

Or try Western Electric’s first hearing aid, the Model 10-A of 1923. It came in a mahogany finished birch cabinet 4′ x 3′ x1′ and weighed a whopping 220 pounds! The price was $2,250 not including storage batteries and installation charges. That was 8.6 TIMES the cost of a brand new car at the time when you could buy a brand-new Model T for $260.00. In today’s equivalent dollars compared to the price of modern cars, that hearing aid would now cost somewhere around $129,000.00.

I think I’ll take my much smaller, lighter, less visible and cheaper hearing aids any day and just let people know I have a hearing loss when the subject comes up!

(Neil is also the owner and curator of “The Hearing Aid Museum“.)

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Hearing Loss Research & Resources

Free Visor Cards

Learn about and/or download your free Visor Cards for hard of hearing or deaf people here.

Ototoxic Drugs Exposed

Ototoxic Drugs Exposed 3-volume set You don’t have to let drugs damage your ears leaving you with hearing loss, tinnitus, hyperacusis, ear pain, dizziness, vertigo or other ear problems. This book set reveals how you can greatly reduce your chances of getting these conditions.

Buy This 3-volume Set Now

Take Control of Your Tinnitus—Here’s How

If your ears ring, buzz, chirp, hiss, click or roar, you know just how annoying tinnitus can be. You do not have to put up with this racket for the rest of your life. This book teaches you many things you can do to help bring your tinnitus under your control so it no longer bothers you.

Learn More/Buy The Book Now

Sounds Now Too Loud for You?

Hypersensitive to Sound front coverIf some (or all) normal sounds seem so loud they “blow the top of your head off”, or make you wince or jump, or cause you headaches or ear pain, or affect your balance, or result in fear or annoyance of sounds so you feel you have to avoid these sounds, this book is for you!

Learn More/Buy The Book Now

Hearing Phantom Sounds?

Phantom Voices Ethereal Music & Other Spooky SoundsWhen hard of hearing people begin hearing phantom voices or music, they immediately worry they are going crazy. It never crosses their minds that they are sane and are just experiencing Musical Ear syndrome.

Click here to learn more about the strange phantom sounds of Musical Ear syndrome and what you can do about them.

or Buy The Book Now

Don’t Suffer with Meniere’s Disease

Say Good Bye to Meniere's Disease book front cover If you have experienced Meniere’s Disease, you know it is no laughing matter. The good news is that you can get rid of it painlessly and per-manently when you follow the protocols laid out in this book.

Learn More/Buy The Book Now

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Center for Hearing Loss Help

Neil G. Bauman, Ph.D.
1013 Ridgeway Drive, Lynden,
WA 98264-1057 USA
Email: neil@hearinglosshelp.com
Phone: 360-778-1266 (M-F 9:00 AM-5:00 PM PST)

© 2025 Center for Hearing Loss Help – Help for your hearing loss, tinnitus and other ear conditions

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life [which also includes perfect hearing] through Jesus Christ our Lord." [Romans 6:23]

"But know this, in the last days perilous times will come" [2 Timothy 3:1]. "For there will be famines, pestilences, and [severe] earthquakes in various places" [Matthew 24:7], "distress of nations, the sea and the waves roaring"—tsunamis, hurricanes—Luke 21:25, but this is good news if you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, for "when these things begin to happen, lift up your heads [and rejoice] because your redemption draws near" [Luke 21:28].