In this paper, we trace the history of those forms of rationality that comprise the present situation in hearing clinics. The paper takes as a starting point the 1950s when audiology became a public service. The formation of the field of audiology is framed according to Bourdieu's conception of fields. This approach allows for constructing results in a historical account where we focus on scientific developments emerging as alliances and conflicts between claims of authority and their subsequent impact on rehabilitative audiology and the different conceptualisations of hearing impairment. How the audiological field is structured and how services are provided are matters of 'accumulated history'. Our findings illustrate how the myth of present audiological scientific reason is not merely logical and rational but also complex and contradictory.