COHI was founded in 1977 out of a collaboration between the Washington Area Group for the Hard of Hearing (WAG-HOH) and the Organization for the Use of the Telephone (OUT). Both groups felt there was a need for a national society reflecting the interests of the hard of hearing. COHI’s members were drawn from those who preferred to communicate through lipreading and mechanical amplification rather than sign, and as such did not feel fully represented by the National Association of the Deaf or other deaf groups.

COHI’s first president, Dr. George Fellendorf, was a former executive director of the Alexander Graham Bell Association and was editor of The Volta Review from 1962 through 1978. Fellendorf remained as executive director after he was succeeded in the presidency by Charles Vlcek in 1980. COHI’s other presidents included Maxwell Schneider (1982), Robert Silber (1984) and Milt Jacobson (1985).

COHI lobbied the government on issues of interest to the hard of hearing and worked to draw attention to the challenges faced by the hearing impaired. COHI also provided members with information on hearing aids and other assistive technology, including new developments in the field and how to get the best use out of them.

During the mid-1980s, COHI collaborated with NAD to create an Assistive Devices Center at NAD’s headquarters, where new and improved devices could be showcased. COHI staff also worked on designing a catalog of hearing aids and other devices, although that project was abandoned in favor of giving the organization’s endorsement to the catalog of a hearing aid dealer, Mid-Audio.

COHI came to an end in 1986 when the organization’s board of directors was unable to find volunteers to fill necessary administrative positions, including president and treasurer. The board then voted to disband the organization. The group remained in nominal existence until 1987 while its final president, Milt Jacobson, closed out its legal and financial affairs.

At the time it closed down, COHI’s staff was working on a “cookbook” of directions for the hard of hearing who wished to build and/or improve their own amplifiers and other devices. Publication of this book was transferred to the National Association for Hearing and Speech Action (NAHSA). The remainder of COHI’s assets were either returned to WAG-HOH or given to the Veterans Organization for Hearing Impaired (VOHI).