History: Technology for hearing impairments

From ATWiki

• 1952 - Sonotone released the first hearing aid, the Sonotone 1010, that utilized the transistor for $229.50. Prior models used vacuum tubes. This was also the first commercial use of the transistor.

• 1956 - Beltone releases the Beltone Hear-and-See, the first ear-level binaural (two ear) hearing aid which was hidden in a pair of eye glasses.[1]

• 1970 - The National Institute of Standards begins an investigation to see if a portion of a television signal could be used to send precise time information on a nationwide basis. This investigation eventually led to the creation of closed-captions.^[1]

• 1984 (November 26) - The FDA approves the House 3M Cochlear Implant, the first cochlear implant in adult humans.^[2]

• 2007 (August 1) - Otolaryngologists develop a new, implantable hearing aid called the Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA). A transmitter worn behind the hear vibrates sending sound received by a deaf ear through the skull and over to the good ear. ^[3]

References

1. ↑ "A Brief History of Captioned Television." National Captioning Institute, Inc. Accessed on February 28, 2008.
2. ↑ Cochlear Implant Timeline. Deafness Research Foundation. 2008. Accessed on February 7, 2008.
3. ↑ Scientists Identify Molecular Cause For One Form Of Deafness. Science Daily. February 5, 2007. Accessed on February 1, 2008.