An ear trumpet is a tubular or funnel-shaped device which collects

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

waves and leads them into the

ear An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...

. They were used as

hearing aid A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers su ...

s, resulting in a strengthening of the sound energy impact to the

eardrum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear The outer ear, external ear, or auris externa is the extern ...

and thus improved hearing for a

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

or hard-of-hearing individual. Ear trumpets were made of

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

snail shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of a Gastropoda, gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium s ...

s or

animal horn Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

s. They have largely been replaced in wealthier areas of the world by modern hearing aid technology that is much smaller and less obtrusive, albeit more expensive. A sound trumpet does not "amplify" sound. It takes the sound power received over a large area and concentrates it into a smaller area. The received sound is louder, but no power has been created in the process.

History

The use of ear trumpets for the partially deaf dates back to the 17th century.Howard, Alexander. "Hearing Aids: Smaller and Smarter." New York Times, November 26, 1998. The earliest description of an ear trumpet was given by the French

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest and mathematician

Jean Leurechon Jean Leurechon (c. 1591 – 17 January 1670) was a French Jesuit priest, astronomer, and mathematician, known for inventing the pigeonhole principle and naming the thermometer. Life Leurechon was born in Bar-le-Duc where his father, also named J ...

in his work ''Recreations mathématiques'' (1634). Polymath

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fe ...

also described a similar device in 1650. Rein hearing aid catalog

By the late 18th century, their use was becoming increasingly common. Collapsible conical ear trumpets were made by instrument makers on a one-off basis for specific clients. Well-known models of the period included the Townsend Trumpet (made by the deaf educator John Townshend), the Reynolds Trumpet (specially built for painter

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

) and the Daubeney Trumpet. The first firm to begin commercial production of the ear trumpet was established by Frederick C. Rein in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1800. In addition to producing ear trumpets, Rein also sold hearing fans and

speaking tube A speaking tube or voicepipe is a device based on two cones connected by an air pipe through which speech can be transmitted over an extended distance. Use of pipes was suggested by Francis Bacon in the ''New Atlantis'' (1672). The usage for tel ...

s. These instruments helped concentrate sound energy, while still being portable. However, these devices were generally bulky and had to be physically supported from below. Later, smaller, hand-held ear trumpets and cones were used as hearing aids.Levitt, H. "Digital hearing aids: wheelbarrows to ear inserts." ASHA Leader 12, no. 17 (December 26, 2007): 28-30.Mills, Mara. “When Mobile Communication Technologies Were New.” Endeavour 33 (December 2009): 140-146. Rein was commissioned to design a special acoustic chair for the ailing King of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

John VI of Portugal , house = Braganza , father = Peter III of Portugal , mother = Maria I of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal , death_date = , death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal , ...

in 1819. The throne was designed with ornately carved arms that looked like the open mouths of lions. These holes acted as the receiving area for the acoustics, which were transmitted to the back of the throne via a speaking tube, and into the king's ear. Finally in the late 1800s, the acoustic horn, which was a tube that had two ends, a cone that captured sound, and was eventually made to fit in the ear.

Johann Nepomuk Mälzel A metronome by Maelzel, Paris, 1815. Johann Nepomuk Maelzel (or Mälzel; August 15, 1772 – July 21, 1838) was a German inventor, engineer, and showman, best known for manufacturing a metronome and several music-playing automatons, and displayi ...

began manufacturing ear trumpets in the 1810s. He notably produced ear trumpets for

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, who was starting to go deaf at the time. These are now kept in the Beethoven Museum in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

Toward the late 19th century, hidden hearing aids became increasingly popular. Rein pioneered many notable designs, including his 'acoustic headbands', where the hearing aid device was artfully concealed within the hair or headgear. Reins' ''Aurolese Phones'' were headbands, made in a variety of shapes, that incorporated sound collectors near the ear that would improve the acoustics. Hearing aids were also hidden in couches, clothing, and accessories. This drive toward ever-increasing invisibility was often more about hiding the individual's disability from the public than about helping the individual cope with his problem. F. C. Rein and Son of London ended its ear trumpet-manufacturing activity in 1963, as both the first and last company of its kind.

Pinard horn

Pinard horn A Pinard horn is a type of stethoscope used to listen to the heart rate of a fetus during pregnancy. It is a hollow horn, often made of wood or metal, about long. It functions similarly to an ear trumpet by amplifying sound. The user holds the wi ...

is a type of stethoscope used by

midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

that is designed similarly to an ear trumpet. It is a wooden cone about 8 inches long. The midwife presses the wide end of the horn against the pregnant woman's belly to monitor heart tones. Pinard horns were invented in France in the 19th century, and are still in use in many places worldwide.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Hearing Aid MuseumPackington Collection
Hearing aids Deafness

History

Pinard horn

See also

References

External links