Brass ear trumpet

Brass ear trumpet hearing aid, with ivory earpiece, marked as 'English made', no maker marked, 1880-1900

Ear trumpets or hearing trumpets were conical shape devices connected to a funnel and an earpiece, which intended to help people experiencing hearing loss hear better. The ear trumpet worked by collecting sounds and directing them directly into the ear canal. Most of ear trumpets, like this one, were intended for people to carry them around and used when needed.

This trumpet’s shape varies from the usual conical shape to a round one and it is also extendable. This design, attributed to the physician Adam Politzer, was introduced during the 1880s. Politzer was a prolific inventor of medical instruments aimed at treating and examining the ear and auditory ailments. He is mostly remembered as the inventor of a device that later led to the development of the otoscope, still in use today for the inspection of the ear canal and ear drum.