Medresco hearing aid

Medresco hearing aid external type OL20a displayed disassembled in showcase, c1950

With the launch of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, the government needed an economical hearing aid that could be issued free of charge to the large numbers of the population now be entitled to them. Commissioned by The Ministry of Health, the development of this post-war portable hearing aid was funded through The Medical Research Council, who also inspired its name - Medresco. Before they stopped being produced in the 1970s, to be replaced by smaller devices in the 1980s made by commercial companies, a number of different and improved Medresco hearing aid models were made.

The externally worn OL20a model was an early design manufactured during the first years of the National Health Service (NHS). This example has been disassembled into its component parts, which have then been labelled and mounted into a shallow glass-fronted box for display purposes in the past.