Conversation tube hearing aid

Made:
1870-1920 in unknown place and Europe
Ear trumpet with flexible tube

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Ear trumpet with flexible tube
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Flexible hearing aid, to a design known as a speaking tube or conversation tube, believed to have been made in Europe, 1870-1920.

Flexible tube hearing aids were also known as ‘conversation tubes’. They amplified sound to help partially deaf people hear more clearly. They are a very basic hearing aid. The user could either listen to general conversation or the speaker talked directly into the trumpet end. Conversation tubes were not just for the hard of hearing. Puritan couples who were courting used them during the 1600s to have private conversations. Social customs of the day dictated they sit opposite each other across a table. The conversation tube allowed them a little intimacy and interaction.

Details

Category:
Audiology
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A32291
Materials:
trumpet, brass, earpiece, brass and tube, steel
Measurements:
overall: 1790 mm 40 mm, .138 kg
bell: 45 mm x 40 mm
type:
hearing aid
credit:
Wellcome Trust (Purchased from Stevens)