Difference between revisions of "Ear Trumpet"

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(Deafness and Disability: Cultural Conceptions)
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=The Ear Trumpet Design and Innovation=
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In many early texts it is often very unclear whether writers are referring to speaking trumpets or ear trumpets. In some ways its of little importance which these writers were referring to because the design of the invention is parallel quite some time. This factor highlights the fact that when the ear trumpet finally did break off, most changes to the ear trumpet were aesthetic and not functional.  Even if in slightly different spirit, I would assert that this was one of the first instances of a communication medium, as fashion accessory.<br><br>
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In his Magia Naturalis, Porta calls his trumpet a trunk and describes it as a "pipe" fashioned ideally out of lead.(Porta Ch.XII)  However, Porta does not describe a conic quality to his trunk which would be crucial to the effectiveness of a ear trumpet.  Additionally, Porta reveals some misconceptions he has about sound, in that he thinks he would be able to capture it in the pipe until a later date.  This leads me to beleive that Porta, who compiled much of his Magia Naturalis, didn't in fact own or have access to an actual instrument. <br><br>
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Athansius Kircher
  
 
=Telescoping Ear Trumpet=
 
=Telescoping Ear Trumpet=
 
[[Image:Telescoping_Ear_Trumpet.jpg|thumb|left|Telescoping or Collapsible Ear Trumpet (Curtis 184)]]
 
[[Image:Telescoping_Ear_Trumpet.jpg|thumb|left|Telescoping or Collapsible Ear Trumpet (Curtis 184)]]
 
[[Image:Slide-trumpet.jpg|thumb|right|Slide Trumpet; Early 15th Century]]
 
[[Image:Slide-trumpet.jpg|thumb|right|Slide Trumpet; Early 15th Century]]
The popularity of the Townsend Telescoping Ear trumpet can be attributed to the fact that it was compact, and easy to conceal.  Interestingly, as far back as the early 15th century there is record of a slide trumpet, which uses the same basic principle (pictured right.) Needless to say this is an example of the obvious, using the existing ear trumpet technology with telescoping technology to increase compactness and further conceal disability.
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The popularity of the Townsend Telescoping Ear trumpet can be attributed to the fact that it was compact, and easy to conceal.  Interestingly, as far back as the early 15th century there is record of a slide trumpet, which uses the same basic principle (pictured right.) Needless to say this is an example of the obvious, using the existing ear trumpet technology with telescoping technology to increase compactness and further conceal disability. If this was not clear enough, Van Etter in his "Recreation Mathematique" entitles his chapter on the device, "How to make an instrument to help hearing, as Galileus made to help the sight?"
  
  

Revision as of 13:10, 5 December 2007

Speaking Trumpet

Elizabeth Bennion aptly declares the following to open her book Antique Hearing Devices,
“There are three points to be effected in order to aid inadequacy in hearing. Firstly, the distance between speaker and hearer can be reduced. Secondly, the speaker can increase the sound, either by speaking more loudly or by using some mechanical means such a s a megaphone or microphone. Thirdly, an artificial means can be found to collect more of the sound energy and direct it more efficiently into the auditory canal, or to introduce the vibrations of sound directly into the skull(Bennion 1).”
The first of the methods Bennion introduces to deal with audio inadequacy requires no medium to implement and in fact cannot entertain the use of a medium. The second is the first of her method which would merit an invention in the scheme of human development. The first textual record of a such a device appears in Homer's The Iliad around 850 B.C.which describes a large bronze trumpet designed to amplify the voice. Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) was also known to use a speaking horn mounted on a tripod to gather his huntsmen when they were at a great distance.(Berger 12)

The third method describes a heightening of the sound on the receivers end. So why is it that speaking trumpets were used widely and constructed with such high suffistication hundreds of years before the birth of christ, but ear trumpets would not be popularized and widely manufactured until the 16th century?

Deafness and Disability: Cultural Conceptions

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Throne of King Goa VI, A Speaking Tube

To find the answer for this question one has to explore the cultural perceptions of the disabled in a historical context. Before the 16th century the deaf were considered invalid and unteachable. It wasn't until Spaniard Pedro De Ponce (1520-1584)taught pupils to speak, read, and write that the deaf would even be considered worthwhile of assisting.(Bennion 4) Additionally, life expectancy was much shorter and elderly becoming hard of hearing was far less common than it is in the present. Even with some progress in accommodating the needs of the disabled, we must remember that the world during the time that the ear trumpet and other non-electric hearing devices were popular was far from the world of today. Disability was still looked down upon and often considered ungodly. For this reason, ear trumpets and speaking tubes, necessarily cumbersome in construction, were often disguised and masked. Pictured is the throne of Spanish King Goa VI, fashioned by the British firm R.C. Rein & Son, who was hard of hearing. Courtiers were intended to kneel and speak into the mouthpieces located in the arms of the chair and the king would listen to an earpieces which connected to the tube.



The Ear Trumpet Design and Innovation

In many early texts it is often very unclear whether writers are referring to speaking trumpets or ear trumpets. In some ways its of little importance which these writers were referring to because the design of the invention is parallel quite some time. This factor highlights the fact that when the ear trumpet finally did break off, most changes to the ear trumpet were aesthetic and not functional. Even if in slightly different spirit, I would assert that this was one of the first instances of a communication medium, as fashion accessory.

In his Magia Naturalis, Porta calls his trumpet a trunk and describes it as a "pipe" fashioned ideally out of lead.(Porta Ch.XII) However, Porta does not describe a conic quality to his trunk which would be crucial to the effectiveness of a ear trumpet. Additionally, Porta reveals some misconceptions he has about sound, in that he thinks he would be able to capture it in the pipe until a later date. This leads me to beleive that Porta, who compiled much of his Magia Naturalis, didn't in fact own or have access to an actual instrument.

Athansius Kircher

Telescoping Ear Trumpet

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Telescoping or Collapsible Ear Trumpet (Curtis 184)
Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
Slide Trumpet; Early 15th Century

The popularity of the Townsend Telescoping Ear trumpet can be attributed to the fact that it was compact, and easy to conceal. Interestingly, as far back as the early 15th century there is record of a slide trumpet, which uses the same basic principle (pictured right.) Needless to say this is an example of the obvious, using the existing ear trumpet technology with telescoping technology to increase compactness and further conceal disability. If this was not clear enough, Van Etter in his "Recreation Mathematique" entitles his chapter on the device, "How to make an instrument to help hearing, as Galileus made to help the sight?"


Speaking Tubes

encoder / decoder

Works Cited

  • Bennion, Elisabeth. Antique Hearing Devices. London: Vernier Press, 1994.
  • Berger, Kenneth Walter. The Hearing Aid: Its Operation and Development. Detroit: National Hearing Aid Society, 1970.
  • Curtis, John Harrison. A Treatise on the physiology and pathology of the ear : containing a comparative view of its structure, functions, and various diseases; observations on the derangement of the ganglionic plexus of nerves, as the cause of many obscure diseases of the ear. Together with remarks on the deaf and dumb. 6th ed. London : Longman, 1836.
  • Kircher, Athanasius. Phonurgia Nova. 1673.
  • Porta, Giambattista della. Magia Naturalis. 1558.
  • Stephens, S. D. G., and J. C. Goodwin. "Non-Electric Aids to Hearing: a Short History." International Journal of Audiology 23 (1984): 215-240. InformaWorld. New York University Bobst. 1 Dec. 2007
  • Zielinski, Siegfried. Deep Time of Media. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2006.