diff --git a/coffee/chosen.jquery.coffee b/coffee/chosen.jquery.coffee
index 2efa5c79c1d..97a7f0204a1 100644
--- a/coffee/chosen.jquery.coffee
+++ b/coffee/chosen.jquery.coffee
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ class Chosen extends AbstractChosen
       'class': container_classes.join ' '
       'style': "width: #{this.container_width()};"
       'title': @form_field.title
+      'aria-hidden': true
 
     container_props.id = @form_field.id.replace(/[^\w]/g, '_') + "_chosen" if @form_field.id.length
 
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ class Chosen extends AbstractChosen
     else
       @container.html '<a class="chosen-single chosen-default" tabindex="-1"><span>' + @default_text + '</span><div><b></b></div></a><div class="chosen-drop"><div class="chosen-search"><input type="text" autocomplete="off" /></div><ul class="chosen-results"></ul></div>'
 
-    @form_field_jq.hide().after @container
+    @form_field_jq.addClass('chosen-sr-only').after @container
     @dropdown = @container.find('div.chosen-drop').first()
 
     @search_field = @container.find('input').first()
diff --git a/coffee/chosen.proto.coffee b/coffee/chosen.proto.coffee
index 1450144c84f..8580b92bdc8 100644
--- a/coffee/chosen.proto.coffee
+++ b/coffee/chosen.proto.coffee
@@ -22,12 +22,13 @@ class @Chosen extends AbstractChosen
       'class': container_classes.join ' '
       'style': "width: #{this.container_width()};"
       'title': @form_field.title
+      'aria-hidden': true
 
     container_props.id = @form_field.id.replace(/[^\w]/g, '_') + "_chosen" if @form_field.id.length
 
     @container = if @is_multiple then new Element('div', container_props).update( @multi_temp.evaluate({ "default": @default_text}) ) else new Element('div', container_props).update( @single_temp.evaluate({ "default":@default_text }) )
 
-    @form_field.hide().insert({ after: @container })
+    @form_field.addClassName('chosen-sr-only').insert({ after: @container })
     @dropdown = @container.down('div.chosen-drop')
 
     @search_field = @container.down('input')
diff --git a/sass/chosen.scss b/sass/chosen.scss
index b2f78e2d7bc..fb261fd3d0f 100644
--- a/sass/chosen.scss
+++ b/sass/chosen.scss
@@ -417,3 +417,15 @@ $chosen-sprite-retina: image-url('chosen-sprite@2x.png') !default;
   }
 }
 /* @end */
+
+/* @group Accessibility helpers */
+.chosen-sr-only {
+  position: absolute;
+  width: 1px;
+  height: 1px;
+  margin: -1px;
+  padding: 0;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  clip: rect(0 0 0 0);
+  border: 0;
+}