Stevens was born at
Panteg,
Monmouthshire. He was educated at
West Monmouth School,
University College, Cardiff (obtaining a
Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1927) and
Jesus College, Oxford (obtaining a further bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences in 1929). He started working for the
Radio Corporation of America and then as a salesman for a manufacturer of electrical
hearing aids. As he considered that the products he was selling were inadequate, he set up his company (Amplivox) to make better hearing aids. He designed the world's first wearable electronic hearing aid: the microphone went on the lapel, the amplifier went in the jacket pocket and the earphone was small enough not to need a headband. He also had a comprehensive collection of aids to hearing, spanning 400 years. Stevens died on 29 January 1995. ==Charitable works==