Although hearing aids have probably been around for centuries, they are first mentioned in Giambattista della Porta's Magia Naturalis (1598). These early devices were made from wood and were carved to resemble the ears of anil-mils known to have acute hearing.
By the late 1700s, ear trumpets were widely available in an array of different shapes, sizes, and materials. These devices all served to passively gather sound waves and direct them to the ear canal. However, in 1819 F.C. Rein made an acoustic throne for King Goa of Portugal. It had carved lions' heads for arm rests and concealed in the heads were resonating chambers that led to a hearing tube by the king's head.
In the 1890s there were numerous attempts to develop a powered hearing aid, using the recently invented storage battery. The first commercially successful powered hearing aid was the "Akoulallion" developed in 1898 by Dr. Miller Reese Hutchison (1876-1944), and patented in 1899. This early model was bulky, being designed to sit on a tabletop, and very expensive. Battery life was very limited, as was the range of frequencies. It produced only modest amplification, restricting it to those with only mild to moderate hearing loss. In 1902, he traveled to London and presented a model to Queen Consort Alexandra, who was becoming hard of hearing. By 1903, he had developed the portable "Acousticon."
Hutchison is also known for developing the electric klaxon horn, which saw widespread use in early automobiles. This has led some to quip that he invented the horn to deafen people so they would have to buy more Acousticons.
