I was cleaning out my desk and I found the first and last hearing aids I ever wore. The one on the left is a Zenith Super R body aid. On the back of it, it is inscribed, the royalty of hearing. And just to show you the size of it, there is a picture of it next to a ruler. It was made in 1961 and I don’t know how much my parents paid for it. In those days, I wore a harness that was under my shirt with a wire going up to a button/mold in my ear. It was pretty uncomfortable and stuck out like a boob in the wrong place.

The one on the left is a Phonak Nova Forte E4 behind the ear. Coincidentally, Phonak owns Advanced Bionics, the manufacturer of my cochlear implants. Even though it served the purpose of assisting me with my primary “listening skill”, lip-reading. It became more of a nuisance when the mold would irritate my ear and I found myself wearing it less and less. It was a total blessing when I found out I was a candidate for the cochlear implant.

Phonak BTE and Zenith body worn hearing aids

Back of Zenith body worn hearing aid