Introduction[]
Earpieces first became common in the early 1990s and were particularly popular with businesswomen. They were also used by the army and police. However from 1997 onward, the popularity of earpieces increased - especially among young people.
Usage[]
| Year | Number of people who said they wore earpieces daily in US |
| 1994 | 56,000 |
| 1995 | 231,940 |
| 1996 | 501,989 |
| 1997 | 1,830,011 |
| 1998 | 7,548,410 |
| 1999 | 14 |
| 2000 | |
Types[]
There are several different types of earpieces.
Implant
American Lucy Saunders became the first person to have an earpiece implant
The first earpiece implant was carried out on July 20th 1996 in the Cybex International clinic in Los Angeles. By the end of the year 57 of these procedures had been carried out. The first procedure involved small earpieces being implanted into each ear, these were in reality just earpieces that couldn't be removed and carried out no special functions, this was known as the Eplant1 Procedure. The popularity of the procedure dwindled among many and all of the first 3000 people to have the procedure done were women. However from the turn of the century onward, the number of Eplant1 procedures increased rapidly. When celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Jenni Smith and President Sarah Palin had the procedure done that sales really increased. By 2006 the procedure was so popular that a waiting list had to be imposed. All the rich and famous and generally anyone who was anyone had the procedure done. Most customers were from the US as that was the only country where Cybex operated. However, many rich Europeans made the journey. Cybex would only employ people that had implants. Along with many major US companies, those people who couldn't afford implants were soon to be allowed them when in October 2008 President Palin announced that all US citizens without
Then actress Scarlett Johansson was one of the first celebrities to have earpiece implants, her decision to have them and subsequent advertising campaigns are hailed as a great turn in popularity
implants would have them with the help of a government loan. This policy continued under President Johansson. However still by the end of 2008 only 1/5 of Americans had earpiece implants, more clinics were built in the east coast and a huge public advertising campaign soon assured that in only two years all Americans would be fitted with earpiece implants. But there were still some people who refused the procedure, and in early 2010 President Johansson announced that these people would be expelled.
| Year | Number of procedures carried out in US | Total number of people with earpiece implants |
| 1996 | 58 | 58 |
| 1997 | 284 | 342 |
| 1998 | 1,890 | 2,232 |
| 1999 | 19,340 | 21,572 |
| 2000 | 52,925 | 74,497 |
| 2001 | 199,932 | 274,429 |
| 2002 | 502,173 | 776,602 |
| 2003 | 771,931 | 1,548,533 |
| 2004 | 939,552 | 2,488,085 |
| 2005 | 3,390,889 | 5,878,974 |
| 2006 | 11,973,382 | 17,852,356 |
| 2007 | 19,750,918 | 37,603,274 |
| 2008 | 63,372,017 | 100,975,291 |
| 2009 | 103,767,000 | 204,742,291 |
| 2010 | 312,803,669 | 517,545,960 |
However in June 2009, this was taken one step farther. This involved the extraction of the inner ear area and its replacement with artificial replicures, then a biological adapter allowed the earpiece to effectively be implanted into the brain. This device effectively harnessed the power of the human brain as a computer and allowed extra memory to be downloaded into the brain.
Megan Dale was the first patient and by January 2011 all MkI earpiece implants had been upgraded to Mk2.
Megan Dale shows off her new Earpiece Implants, Megan was effectively the first Human to be fitted with Cyborg technology