Hugh Hetherington Hearing Aid Museum
Hugh Hetherington Hearing Aid Museum

The Hearing Aid Museum

Hearing Aids of all types—Ear Trumpets, Carbon Hearing Aids, Vacuum Tube Hearing Aids, Transistor Hearing Aids, Body Hearing Aids, Eyeglass Hearing Aids and much more!

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Click on the "General Information" button (top button above) for an overview and general information on this category of hearing aid.

 

Transistor (Body) Hearing Aids

Audivox Model 83 "Custom" Transistor (Body) Hearing Aid

The Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid was made by Audivox, Inc. of Boston, MA in 1961.

This hearing aid had 5 transistors and utilized a push-pull amplifier circuit. It measured 2 15/16" x 1 13/16" x 9/16" (7.5 x 4.6 x 1.5 cm) and weighed 2.9 oz (82 g) without batteries.

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Back

 
Front view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing its chrome front. Note the wire pocket clip.

 

 

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Close-up of the upper front of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the microphone grill (hole in center) surrounded by three black "gems" set in an attractive graphic design.

 

 

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Top view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the 3-position switch (left) (see below for description) and the volume control/on-off wheel (right).

 

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Close-up of the top left corner of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the 3-position switch—T (t-coil), N (normal tone) and H (high-frequency emphasis).

 

 

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Rear view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the battery door on the lower half of the back. The battery door swings up from the bottom.

 

 

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Bottom view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the recessed thumbnail slot (center) to pull open the battery compartment door.

 

 

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View of the inside of the battery compartment lid of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid battery compartment showing the warning "Important" and "Remove battery when not in continuous use". Otherwise, the batteries tended to corrode in place and destroy the battery compartment.
 

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Close-up of the left side of the battery compartment of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the serial number (24107) in white numbers. Below that is the manufacturer's information (Audivox, Boston, Mass, USA) and below that the model number (Model 83).

 

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View of the battery compartment of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid with the battery compartment door opened. It swung up from the bottom.

Note the twin battery slots on the right. This was a higher-powered aid and took not one, but two batteries.

Also note the plastic "tab" that went under the batteries to make it easy to remove them.

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View of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid battery compartment showing how pulling up on the plastic tab (right side) dislodged the batteries so you could replace them.

 

 

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View of the battery compartment of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the two Type "N" or 401 batteries in place.

This aid used two 1.4 mercury batteries such as these Rayovac RP-401 batteries.

 

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Lower right side view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the two-holed jack for the receiver cord and the plug on the end of the receiver cord.

Note that they used a very unusual (perhaps unique) way of ensuring that the plug would only fit one way (with the cord facing up). One pin on the receiver cord plug was about twice as long as the other (right). Only the lower hole extended in far enough to insert the plug all the way.
 

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Right side view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid showing the receiver cord plugged into the body.

Note that the plug was oriented vertically so the receiver cord would not have to have a sharp bend in it when used in a pocket.

 

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Front view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid receiver showing the "Audivox" name on the receiver (bottom left), the part number—8C-1 (bottom right) and "Made in USA" (top right).  The ear mold snapped onto the nubbin in the center.
 

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Close-up of the back of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid receiver. The receiver cord is plugged in (right).

 

 

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Side view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid receiver showing the receiver cord plug (left) and 2-holed jack on the bottom of the receiver. Both holes are the same size so you could put the plug in either way.

 

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Close-up view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid receiver and ear mold unsnapped.

 

 

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Side view of the Audivox Model 83 "Custom" transistor body hearing aid receiver showing the clear plastic ear mold (left) snapped to the receiver (right).

 

 

 

 

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