U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for November 16

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16: HEARING AID

Profile America — Tuesday, November 16th.  There was good news for the hard of hearing this week in 1901 — as Miller Reese Hutchinson of New York patented the first portable electric hearing aid.  Called the "Acousticon," the device was a smaller version of previous tabletop units. While portable, it still had three components and used batteries that only lasted for a few hours. But it was far superior to ungainly hearing trumpets or simply cupping a hand behind the ear.  Now, tiny digital hearing aids that users can program for maximum effect help millions to hear normal conversations.  In the U.S., there are more that 8 million people who have difficulty hearing and a million who are unable to hear at all.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  American Speakers Calendar of Events

               U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB10-FF.13

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau