It is uncertain who invented the first electric hearing aid, it may have been the Akoulathon, invented in 1898, but hearing aids in general, are an old concept. In the older days hearing aids were simply big, bulky, mechanical devices, such as trumpets and etc.
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. The first non electronic hearing aid was invented in the 17th century, and the first electronic hearing aid was invented in 1898. There are now digital hearing aids since the year 1996.