Western Electric Stock Ear Molds
The Western Electric Company of Kearny, NJ began making hearing aids
around 1923. They applied for a patent for stock ear molds
in 1926. This patent was granted in 1929.
Stock (or generic) ear molds were designed to fit
everyone.
The matched pair of stock ear molds shown here were made of hard black rubber. |
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Rear view of a Western Electric stock ear mold. This one shows
Patent No. 1733579.
Thus it dates from 1929 or the early 1930s. The brass ferrule in the
center was for snapping the ear mold on to the post of the receiver.
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Stock Western Electric hard rubber ear mold (left) and receiver
(right). The ear
mold snaps on to the post on the
receiver. |
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Stock Western Electric ear mold shown attached to a Western Electric receiver. |
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Stock ear molds were a generic shape to fit everyone's ears, but since
people's ears vary in size, Western Electric made a variety of sizes of
stock ear molds. Here are 3 different sized hard rubber stock ear molds. |
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Hard rubber stock ear molds weren't necessarily comfortable to wear
as each person's ear canals were slightly different in shape, causing
pain where there were too tight. To help solve this problem, Western
Electric came out with stock soft rubber ear molds that more readily
adapted to the different shapes of people's ear canals.
Shown here are two matched pairs of Western Electric soft rubber
stock ear molds.
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