1959

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids, as their name indicates, were worn behind the ear and from the very start were especially favored by women.

Hearing aids worn on the head accommodate all their components in a single housing. The reproduced sound is transmitted from the receiver into the ear canal via a tube connected to an ear mold.

Because the microphone opening on the first BTE instrument was located behind the ear, its directional focus was different from that of the human ear. Not so with Auriculina 341, Siemens worldwide innovation that appeared in 1961. This hearing aid positioned the microphone's sound pickup in front of the ear for a better directional effect.