868 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTJRE 



of hearing, have been humbugged and swin- 

 dled by quack advertisements. I have test- 

 ed pretty much every thing I have seen ad- 

 vertised; but the most benefit I ever re- 

 ceived was from some sort of ear-trumpet. 

 The things that are j^ushed into the ear may, 

 some of them, be of slight benefit under 

 some circumstances; and some are sold by 

 philanthropic parties who wdll let you take 

 one on trial, for which they charge you 

 $1.00, and they keep the dollar for just 

 letting you " try " a thing that should not 

 cost more than five or ten cents. 



For a year or two 1 have been noticing 

 advertisements of a sort of telephone for the 

 deaf; but I did not think projoer to bother 

 with it until I saw a half-column advertise- 

 ment in the Sunday School Times. This was 

 from the Mears Ear Phone Co., 45 West 34th 

 St., New York. After a little corresponden.'e 

 they have sent me two instruments on trial, 

 both operated by dry batteries. The mas- 

 sage aurasage is for stimulating the nerve 

 of the ear so the natural hearing may be re- 

 covered. The directions are, that wdien one 

 gets a machine he is to walk up to the clock 

 and see how many inches av:.y the ear must 

 be just to catch the sounl of the ticking. 

 Then after having used it for some time 

 (twice a day), keep testing the distance. 

 If you can hear the ticking further away, 

 you are making progress. So far, 1 can not 

 perceive any benefit from the aurasage. The 

 other instrument, the ear phone, certainly 

 makes every thing louder. Witli this instru- 

 ment I can hear the ticking of the clock 

 plainly from the further end of a large 

 room. New, this is certainlj^ encouraging. 

 But the sound of the human voice, although 

 much loader, is unnatural and indistinct, so 

 that so far it does not seem to be of any 

 benefit to me. Not only is the ticking of the 

 clock magnified, but every other sound. 

 When Mrs. Root is working with her dishes 

 the clash of the pans and kettles fairly 

 makes me jump. Any thing like the rattle 

 of a tin pan seems to be i^articularly magni- 

 fied; and these various sounds make such a 

 din that I can not hear talking as well as 

 I can without an instrument. I may get 

 over tlus in time, and I am going to make 

 a faithful test. 



Now here comes in one of my " wonder- 

 ful discoveries;" but, like so many of my 

 discoveries, althougli it is new to me it may 

 be an old thing after all. While experi- 

 menting with the ticking of the clock I 

 happened to put my hand up to vay ear, as 

 deaf people often do, and I found that, by 

 putting my thumb under my ear and my 

 fore finger back of and over it, and crowd- 

 ing the ear forward (as a horse does when 

 he w'ants to listen), I could hear the clock 



tick plainly clear out in the center of tbo 

 room. With both hands in that positiori I 

 could hear it tick in any part of the room 

 as well as with the instrument. Now, it 

 would not only be inconvenient but a little 

 ridiculous to think of putting up both hands 

 in that position when I can not catch on to 

 the talk; and I confess, also, that I shrink 

 against publishing my infirmity by lugging 

 an ear-trumpet around wherever I go. I 

 think at the present time I shall get along 

 as I have been doing for a dozen years past 

 — that is, when outside of our home or in 

 the office. In the office I shall use the palm 

 of my hand in the way I have described 

 when I do not hear readily; and my two 

 hands, right and left, I shall take along 

 with me, having them at all times right at 

 '' hand." I think this will be much easier 

 and more comfortable, at least to myself, 

 than a dry battery and a receiver, even if 

 the latter is not much larger than a half- 

 dollar. 



I have also received circulars from the 

 General Acoustic Co., of New York. Their 

 apparatus costs $60.00. The ones I have 

 been mentioning cost $20.00 each, or the 

 two for $37.50. 



Later. — To-day, Nov. 3, just as we are 

 about to start for Florida, I have, by the 

 kind permission of the manufacturers, test- 

 ed both instruments mentioned above — the 

 $20.00 one and the $60.00 one— and I am 

 sorry to say that, although the latter is a 

 much finer instrument, I do not find either 

 one enough help in my case to warrant me 

 in keeping it, and therefore both have been 

 returned. The principal trouble is the clash 

 and clatter of sounds besides the voice that 

 I am wanting to hear. I am assured by 

 both of the firms that in time I would be 

 able to distinguish and would not be trou- 

 bled by these echoes or clattering, and this 

 may be true. The greatest reason why I 

 can not hear through the telephone is the 

 buzzing and scraping noise. My deafness 

 is a little iDeculiar. While I hear the voice 

 I do not seem to be able to catch on unless 

 I know pretty well what my informant is 

 talking about. Another thing, I hear ordi- 

 nary conversation very well without any 

 mechanical help if I can be reasonably near 

 the person who is talking. 



I am sorry to make so poor a report, for 

 T have good reason to believe that hundreds 

 are finding these instruments of gi'cat bene- 

 fit. 



What a feeling of delight comes over one on re- 

 turning hot and tired from a long day among the 

 bees, to find Gleanings awaiting our arrival! It 

 seems to get better and brighter every issue, while 

 the special numbers are really a valuable addition. 



X. H. BOWEN. 



