The other day my father called me up to tell me about his hearing loss(50% in both of his ears) and that he has to get on hearing aids quickly. He also mentioned that the doctor gave him several manufacturers and models to select from.
I spent some time on the internet researching the makers of these devices, and at one point I typed “Who Invented Hearing Aid” on google.
Interestingly the results were all over the place : Wikianswers.com showed it was “Robert Bascetta”. About.com said “It is uncertain who invented the first electric hearing aid, it may have been the Akoulathon, invented in 1898 by Miller Reese Hutchinson and made and sold (1901) by the Akouphone Company of Alabama for $400.”
So I started digging little bit more in my home library and found this amazing entrepreneurial story about hearing aids that I am sure you will like.
Apparently Edward A Myer, an automobile distributor from Pittsburgh, discovered the first ever hearing aid in 1920 for his own personal use. Soon after he started EA Myers & Sons. The company started creating hearing aids with a personal touch for years and competed in a highly volatile industry.
In an industry where major manufactures positioned the hearing aids as portable electronics devices, Myers & Sons approached the market differently and maintained a medical character in their Marketing and Sales process.
Myers insisted that psychological conditioning is required for artificial listening and that his company can provide this service along with the device.
In all his ad copies and collateral he insisted that “Personalized services are a must along with the hearing aid”.
Thus he conditioned his market to focus on the value of his service than the device itself, which he also custom made with superior workmanship.
The cost of manufacturing a custom hearing device was high and the services were expensive too as a consequence EA Myers & Sons operated their business on less margins for a long time. Yet they competed with their inexpensive competitors head on with a good product, good service and a loyal customers base which was willing to pay twice the price.