Small, unobtrusive or even invisible in the ear. These are often the wishes of people when they have to sort out a hearing aid. The devices have undergone a major transformation in recent years. Yet there is still a taboo on it.
“Some are really ashamed of it. Which is just a shame,” says hearing care professional Joëlle van den Hof. “That has to do with aging or becoming dependent on an aid”. At Hoorcentrum de Wolden in Zuidwolde she often sees people waiting for years before taking the step to take a hearing aid. “While they are often so happy once they have him.”
The device has a long history. In 1650 an earrump or horn was used by the hearing impaired to hear more. At the end of the 19th century the first electric hearing aids came on the market.
How the hearing aid has changed over the years can also be seen in Zuidwolde at the moment. Van den Hof participated in an exhibition in Museum De Wemme. The partly antique pieces were borrowed from hearing care professional Ronald Zweers from Zevenbergen. Over the years he collected more than a thousand hearing aids.
It’s all part of the exhibition Look at all About appearance. Because Zuidwolde has been in existence for 750 years this year, the museum dives into the history of how we get out.
And there are also aids such as hearing aids. And everywhere the people who do tours almost have a story. Arie-Leen van Schoonhoven: “Like here about Winston Churchill. He also wore a hearing aid. And if someone came to the word in parliament that he found annoying, he just turned it off.”
Since that time, the development of hearing aids has not stood still. In the meantime they are a lot smaller and there is also AI (Artificial intelligence, ed.) in. “People often want as small as possible,” says Van den Hof. “But that is also at the expense of connectivity and the computer inside.”
She thinks that a hearing aid can be seen, such as glasses: “In my ideal future I would like to see that a hearing aid is also seen as a fashion statement. That people see them and can also take you into account.”