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Deafness ~~ A Potpourri of Causes, Cures, Non-cures, and Advantages
Dr. Wilde: "Only Two Kinds of Deafness"
"There are only two kinds of deafness. One is due to wax in the ear canal and is curable. The other is not due to wax and is not curable."
William Wilde, MD (1815-1876) We have an appointment with Dr. Wilde on our Page 8, to ask why he thinks deafness is so incurable. 
Also....... we look forward to the pleasure of meeting
Dr. Wilde. He is the father of the famous Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet, Oscar Wilde. (Oscar almost joined our club by going deaf, but in one ear only. P.8). _________________________________________________ 
Beethoven Holds the Non-Cure Record
"Some medical jackass prescribed tea to cure my deafness". Ludwig van Beethoven The cause of Beethoven's deafness remains uncertain. He went through many doctors and treatments, from leeches to toxic plants to almond oil ear plugs. When in his fifties, a surgeon friend, Dr. Aloys Weissenbach, treated Beethoven's deafness with hot and cold baths, teas, diuretics, emetics, endocrenes, vibration, galvanism, noisings, sweatings, nebulizings, tourniquets, dieting, vitamins, herbs, exercising, irrigations, chiropractics, fasting, smoke steaming, acupressure, and injecting chemicals into the auditory meatus, among even other things ------accomplishing nothing. 
Poor Dr. Weissenbach !!
He was a serious music composer on the side, and (OMG!) he eventually became deaf himself !!! And he stayed that way. His bulging portfolio of cures didn't help him either. ___________________________________________________ 
Deafness Cured by Power Dives !!
Aircraft power dive cures were news for 30 years until about 1949. The New York Times ( on 12/29/1924 ) reported an attempt by the US Army Air Corps to cure deafness ----via a 10,000 ft. power dive (almost 2 miles straight down). The "patient" was Joseph Kling, a 28 year old garment worker from Brooklyn, NY, who "needed hearing to join the army". We found nothing in the Times archives on what happened to his deafness -----nor (of greater concern) on what happened to him. The Silent Worker, a Deaf Community publication , said much later that nobody ever got cured in this. It added that several actually died in these attempts (probably hype, as no details or sources were offered). _________________________________________________________________ Our Favorite Power Dive To Cure Deafness ..............
.........took place on May 2nd, 1930 above Duquesne, near Pittsburgh. Wow, what a dive !!
From 12,000 feet up at full throttle, 140 mph straight down, a wing collapsed !! It crashed through the roof of the Carnegie Steel Company, perhaps right into a vat of molten steel. Its two occupants had bailed out. The pilot landed far off on the Baltimore & Ohio RR tracks. The deaf-as-ever, scared-to-death "patient" (who had been given instructions on how to bail out) bounced off the roof but landed conveniently in the company parking lot (perhaps where his car was parked). That was his first (and we assume his last) power dive. Read about it here in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19300502&id=XaBRAAAAIBAJ&sjid= lmgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5244,1111397 ______________________________________________________________ Lifetime Deafness Cured Instantly by a BIRD !!
Seriously!! This is not a joke!! We have solid proof!! As reported:
Two people, "deaf" and "stone deaf" since infancy, were "instantly cured by the piercing squawk of a giant emu bird" that they encountered in a zoo. A real MD (not some hysterical reporter) confirmed this. Yes, lifetime total deafness instantly cured by a bird !!! The fellow looking at you here is a giant emu (though not the actual hero of this event). Emus can grow to 6 feet. They don't fly, but can sprint 30 miles/hour. Their very loud, high-pitched squawk can crack or shatter an empty wine glass. Before you rush to your local zoo and make funny faces at an emu to get it to squawk, find out if they have any. It's not a common zoo resident. This report may have originated in the prestigious International Journal of Otolayringology; we don't know. We found it in the popular Weekly World News, issue of 3/16/1993. Their byline is "The World's Most Reliable News". Typical headlines: PYRAMID FOUND ON THE MOON ! HILLARY CLINTON ADAPTS A SPACE ALIEN ! MAN'S HEAD EXPLODES IN BARBER CHAIR ! Read it all here: https://books.google.com/books?id=7e0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=weekly+world+news+deafness+cured+by+a+bird&source=bl&ots=t1vhO8ZyzD&sig=e3I4-ji0CSuhZyKNet2oyhLXRoU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiMwfWtxY7KAhXE6yYKHZp0A1sQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=weekly%20world%20news%20deafness%20cured%20by%20a%20bird&f=false _________________________________________________________________ 
Deaf? Go to a lecture by
Rev. Louis Farrakhan. "When I speak, blind people see, deaf people hear.........." As quoted in Emerge magazine 
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A Deafening "Deafened Jewish Dyke"? The New Republic (05/31/1993) commented on the Gay March on Washington. It told of one emotional speaker who introduced herself as a "deafened Jewish dyke". The magazine article asked if she lost her hearing "listening to deafening people like herself". _________________________________________________ A Cure and a Loss------ " DEAF MUTE GETS NEW HEARING IN KILLING" "MAN MINUS EAR WAIVES HEARING" Actual published newspaper article headlines in the "blooper collection" of the Columbia School of Journalism, like: "JERK INJURES NECK, WINS AWARD" ______________________________________________________________ 
To cure deafness, annoint the ears with
the oil of eels, used perfectly fresh. Old Irish superstition ________________________________________________________________ The Camera Does Not Lie !! Dr. L. P. Mills
Profound deafness (yes, the real thing !!) is instantly
cured !! Watch Dr. Lorenzo Peays Mills restore hearing in the Netherlands by hand massage and homeopathic Bach Flower Therapy, before your very eyes in this astounding captioned video !! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvQntfERC5g ~~~~~~
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More cures are in the Gospel of Luke 7:22-----
"Then Jesus said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things you have seen and heard, how the blind see, the deaf hear, the leper is cleansed....."
(These very same miracles are recited in Text #4Q521 of the Dead Sea Scrolls, except that one about curing the deaf. Hmmmm, maybe the scribes had some doubts that deafness could be cured).
And there's Isaiah, 25: 5,6 ("Then the .... ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. ....and the tongue of the dumb man shall sing"). And much the same from Matthew 11:5.
Many images of this theme were produced through the centuries to almost the present. The woodcut on the top left is from a 15th Century German book. On the top right, an engraving by Gustave Dore. __________________________________________________________
Are Any Others like Rev. F.F. Bosworth Available?
In a single day, he fully cured six deaf and mute kids. Read the proof below.
It's from the very reliable Los Angeles Times (of May 6, 1928), so of course it must be true.
"Then Jesus said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things you have seen and heard, how the blind see, the deaf hear, the leper is cleansed....."
(These very same miracles are recited in Text #4Q521 of the Dead Sea Scrolls, except that one about curing the deaf. Hmmmm, maybe the scribes had some doubts that deafness could be cured).
And there's Isaiah, 25: 5,6 ("Then the .... ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. ....and the tongue of the dumb man shall sing"). And much the same from Matthew 11:5.
Many images of this theme were produced through the centuries to almost the present. The woodcut on the top left is from a 15th Century German book. On the top right, an engraving by Gustave Dore. __________________________________________________________
Are Any Others like Rev. F.F. Bosworth Available?
In a single day, he fully cured six deaf and mute kids. Read the proof below.
It's from the very reliable Los Angeles Times (of May 6, 1928), so of course it must be true.
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Unholy Cures
There are cures in two novels we haven't read ---and don't intend to (we are going by notes taken from our speed-reading flip-throughs, until the bookstore protested): |
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1) The main character who is "blind, deaf, dumb, and spastic" ( is that all?) for 50 years, gets cured somehow in The Textures of Silence by Gordon Vorster; Murrow, 1984. (Note: "Spastic" is a PC no-no word for cerebral palsy.)
2) The deaf-blind heroine gets cured of both by being raped, in
The Story of Esther Costello by Nicholas Monsarrat (1953).
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2) The deaf-blind heroine gets cured of both by being raped, in
The Story of Esther Costello by Nicholas Monsarrat (1953).
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The Cure-Everything-in-a-Suitcase
This multi-cure applied intense ultra-violet light to different body areas. It originated with the work of a French Dr. Denoyes in 1902. Claims of successful cures ran from acne and baldness, all the way to influenza, tuberculosis, and deafness.
This pricey-looking thing is from the 1920's. On the lid, is a special glass vacuum electrode. Insert it into your ear canal, apply the juice sub-erythemically; that is, for two minutes every other day until your deafness is cured ----which would occur in several weeks or more.
You can read about deafness cured by this and similar marvels in Electrical Healing and the Violet Ray (quick-scroll down to its page 230) :
http://www.arthurleej.com/Violet.pdf
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This pricey-looking thing is from the 1920's. On the lid, is a special glass vacuum electrode. Insert it into your ear canal, apply the juice sub-erythemically; that is, for two minutes every other day until your deafness is cured ----which would occur in several weeks or more.
You can read about deafness cured by this and similar marvels in Electrical Healing and the Violet Ray (quick-scroll down to its page 230) :
http://www.arthurleej.com/Violet.pdf
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Dr. Goerss' Dog-&-Pony Show
( LEFT ) Dr. Franz C. A. Goerss, the eminent specialist in European curative medicine, brought us the latest medical advances from his native Germany. He appeared in San Diego on Tuesday, October 9th, 1894. On stage, he cured the lameness, blindness, and deafness of afflicted persons from the audience who chose to come forward.
As noted in the ad, a brass band and orchestra, with a grand company of entertainers, was on hand.
A drum-and-trumpet fanfare followed every cure.
Also as noted in the ad at left, Dr. Goerss extracted teeth on the platform, painlessly and free of charge.
Attendants vended bottles of the doctor's Malaysayan Tree Oil Extract, a miracle curative of benefit to most ills.
You may wish to learn more about this eminent physician and his prestigious German medical school. Go here:
http://www.sandiegoyesterday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Medicine-Show.pdf
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THE CUTTING-EDGE CURES
THE CUTTING-EDGE CURES
Several decades ago, the only invasive surgery for deafness were two procedures to the inner ear, Fenestration and Mobilization of the Stapes.
No one then even dreamed of fiddling with the nervous system and implanting an electronic gizmo in someone's head.
Well, no one except Andre D'Journo in Paris who dreamed up the cochlear implant, and further back, A.G.Bell who fantasticized about electrically introducing music directly into his deaf wife's brain.
These days, heroic procedures are coming up one after another. Here are the big boys.
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No one then even dreamed of fiddling with the nervous system and implanting an electronic gizmo in someone's head.
Well, no one except Andre D'Journo in Paris who dreamed up the cochlear implant, and further back, A.G.Bell who fantasticized about electrically introducing music directly into his deaf wife's brain.
These days, heroic procedures are coming up one after another. Here are the big boys.
____________________________________________________________
Let's Prelude With the Cochlear Implant
"A patient who had a cochlear implant, spoke warmly of the benefits......he said a phrase such as 'How are you' was likely to sound like 'ba ba boo' ".
The New York Times; 5/15/1988
This "salvation from the dark depths of silence" ( as one hysterical reporter called it ) comes with much misinformation and emotional hype. For a calm view, go here::
http://www.cochlearwar.com/myths_and_facts.html#mf01
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"A patient who had a cochlear implant, spoke warmly of the benefits......he said a phrase such as 'How are you' was likely to sound like 'ba ba boo' ".
The New York Times; 5/15/1988
This "salvation from the dark depths of silence" ( as one hysterical reporter called it ) comes with much misinformation and emotional hype. For a calm view, go here::
http://www.cochlearwar.com/myths_and_facts.html#mf01
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Now for the Big Boys
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1. Behold, the MABI
The folks who gave us the cochlear implant, are into the upscale MABI (Multichannel Auditory Brainstem Implant). It was pioneered by the House Ear Institute in California in 1979. It plants up to 24 electrodes way up at the brainstem, bypassing inner ear and auditory nerve problems. The brainstem? That's the lowest orange part at the left, connecting the brain to the spinal cord at the inferior colliculus (or is that the medial geniculate?). By whatever name, it's brain surgery (and it costs well over $100,000). We pass on this for now.
If you care to try it, let us know what transpired. Over 1,000 people worldwide have had it. We read that it doesn't yet equal the results of the cochlear implant. It gives only a crude sense of sound. NYU Langone Medical Center was uncommonly honest about that. Their public statement said the MABI "provides only a minimal sense of hearing". (They did the procedure on a 2-year old boy born without cochleas). Time however, may reveal hidden value, who knows?.
It's the way to go (if one must), if your cochleas or auditory nerves are missing or destroyed.
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (affiliated with mighty Harvard) is doing clinical trials with children and infants. It has the scary name of Nucleus 24 (for its 24 electrodes). We'll keep a sharp eye on it for you.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130612/Massachusetts-Eye-and-Ear-enrolls-deaf-children-in-new-clinical-trial-of-Auditory-Brainstem-Implant.aspx
If you care to try it, let us know what transpired. Over 1,000 people worldwide have had it. We read that it doesn't yet equal the results of the cochlear implant. It gives only a crude sense of sound. NYU Langone Medical Center was uncommonly honest about that. Their public statement said the MABI "provides only a minimal sense of hearing". (They did the procedure on a 2-year old boy born without cochleas). Time however, may reveal hidden value, who knows?.
It's the way to go (if one must), if your cochleas or auditory nerves are missing or destroyed.
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (affiliated with mighty Harvard) is doing clinical trials with children and infants. It has the scary name of Nucleus 24 (for its 24 electrodes). We'll keep a sharp eye on it for you.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130612/Massachusetts-Eye-and-Ear-enrolls-deaf-children-in-new-clinical-trial-of-Auditory-Brainstem-Implant.aspx
Here's the poster boy........
......for the MABI, the first kid to get this implant in the US. Only this type of implant was applicable to him, since he was born without auditory nerves. Millions of people were enthralled by this photo, and the video it was part of. It described him as "hearing his father's voice for the first time". What most didn't know, thanks to the sensationalizing media (and didn't care to know, anyway), was that he was hearing only guttural noise, not a distinctive human voice. Anyone's voice would have sounded the same. Time will tell what this will amount to later in his life, and of course we wish him well.
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......for the MABI, the first kid to get this implant in the US. Only this type of implant was applicable to him, since he was born without auditory nerves. Millions of people were enthralled by this photo, and the video it was part of. It described him as "hearing his father's voice for the first time". What most didn't know, thanks to the sensationalizing media (and didn't care to know, anyway), was that he was hearing only guttural noise, not a distinctive human voice. Anyone's voice would have sounded the same. Time will tell what this will amount to later in his life, and of course we wish him well.
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2. And the MANI
The newest thing on the horizon is the MANI (Multichannel Auditory Nerve Implant), which is being developed at the University of Michigan. It plants an electrode array directly onto the auditory nerve. Like the MABI (above) it would bypass all inner ear problems. Its trial on humans is predicted to occur in 5 to 10 years. (Thanks for the breathing space.)
Read about it here: http://www.hearinglossweb.com/tech/ani.htm
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The newest thing on the horizon is the MANI (Multichannel Auditory Nerve Implant), which is being developed at the University of Michigan. It plants an electrode array directly onto the auditory nerve. Like the MABI (above) it would bypass all inner ear problems. Its trial on humans is predicted to occur in 5 to 10 years. (Thanks for the breathing space.)
Read about it here: http://www.hearinglossweb.com/tech/ani.htm
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3. And the MACI
A.G. Bell, a great visionary, mused about introducing sound, via analog electrical signals, directly into the brain's auditory cortex, so his lovely deaf wife, Mabel (at right), could enjoy music.
(Fortunately, he didn't find some medical ignoramus willing to try it). This idea is presently bandied about by scientists and is called the MACI (Multichannel Auditory Cortex Implant). Surely, it's somewhere on the far horizon. Help!
(Please meet the remarkable Mabel Hubbard Bell on our Page 6).
(Fortunately, he didn't find some medical ignoramus willing to try it). This idea is presently bandied about by scientists and is called the MACI (Multichannel Auditory Cortex Implant). Surely, it's somewhere on the far horizon. Help!
(Please meet the remarkable Mabel Hubbard Bell on our Page 6).
This is the brain of a person facing left. That yellow area is the main auditory cortex, with related Wernicke's Area in green. The auditory nerve terminates there and spoken words are understood there. That's where the MACI's wires would terminate. _____________________________________________________________
4. And the BOCI
The BOCI (Bone Conductor Implant) fastens the vibrator to the skull inside the head, just behind the ear. It works as a bone conduction hearing aid, with the advantage of being nearer to the cochlear. The BOCI's vibrator (that squarish part) is implanted under the skin with the rest of what's shown. Its digital sound and power enter through the skin, into that circular coil via magnetic induction The bulbous part contains the magnet and rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
This is from Sweden and was implanted in one person for a cautious tryout. They said the juice will be turned on after the surgery heals. Standby, but don't hold your breath. Read about it here:
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/medical-and-healthcare/news/bone-conducting-implant-could-help-deaf-people-hear-normally/1015171.article
Update: It's well past the time when the juice was to be turned on. Come on, come on, where's the patient and what's the result? We can't find anything further on this.
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This is from Sweden and was implanted in one person for a cautious tryout. They said the juice will be turned on after the surgery heals. Standby, but don't hold your breath. Read about it here:
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/sectors/medical-and-healthcare/news/bone-conducting-implant-could-help-deaf-people-hear-normally/1015171.article
Update: It's well past the time when the juice was to be turned on. Come on, come on, where's the patient and what's the result? We can't find anything further on this.
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5. And the DICA
Are you squeesy about getting sliced open, but are comfortable with your dentist? Then consider the DICA
(Dental Integrateded Conduction Aid).
First, a mike stuck into your ear canal is cabled to an over-the-ear processor. It transmits wirelessly to the dental device above, which has a radio receiver, battery, and vibrator. It vibrates your skull through your teeth. It snaps onto your upper molars, on the side with the ear needing assistance).
They gave it the silly commercial name of SoundBite. Regardless of the manufacturer's contrary claim, you'll need to remove it before eating (unless you're desparate for dinner conversation). It might put a bit of a bump on your cheek ------and (OMG !!) a bump each side if there's a binaural version. You might look like Marlon Brando in The Godfather. See more here:
http://www.soundbitehearing.com/soundbite/device.cfm
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(Dental Integrateded Conduction Aid).
First, a mike stuck into your ear canal is cabled to an over-the-ear processor. It transmits wirelessly to the dental device above, which has a radio receiver, battery, and vibrator. It vibrates your skull through your teeth. It snaps onto your upper molars, on the side with the ear needing assistance).
They gave it the silly commercial name of SoundBite. Regardless of the manufacturer's contrary claim, you'll need to remove it before eating (unless you're desparate for dinner conversation). It might put a bit of a bump on your cheek ------and (OMG !!) a bump each side if there's a binaural version. You might look like Marlon Brando in The Godfather. See more here:
http://www.soundbitehearing.com/soundbite/device.cfm
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6. And the TICI
The "Invisible CI" or TICI (Totally Implanted Cochlear Implant) is the good old cochlear implant ----but everything implanted, nothing visible, nothing outside. It's the first fully internal device to restore a lost sense. Neat !
This cheery surgeon had kindly agreed to give our readers a sneak-peek at the mike, processor, and battery. He'll implant all that into the head of the deaf fellow relaxing on the operating table behind him. He'll thread that thin electrode cable he's holding in his right hand, into the patient's cochlea. (See sectioned view at left). The thing's lithium-ion battery will get recharged trans-dermally (through the skin) by magnetic induction.
Yes, it's ALL inside of you. Nothing visible, so nobody gawks at you in the supermarket or on the bus. Nothing to take off when you go swimming, turn flapjacks, or make love. No mountain of used batteries. No muss, no fuss.
You can't turn it off, though they might include a brainy skin bump switch to press, and to adjust the volume as well (---e.g., press twice to reduce, etc.). But consider that hearing people can't turn off or reduce their hearing either (except with ear plugs).
Its buried microphone is an electronic chip that picks up sound from the eardrum and skull, and relays it as impulses into the cochlea. Unfortunately, it will also pick up internal body noises (like pounding of your heart when excited). A hiccup might sound like a sonic boom. And a sneeze?..............OMG !! If you suffer from misophonia (fear of the sounds of body functions), stay clear of this.
Does this thing work? So far, only a small number of people have received the TICI, for development and research purposes ----not enough to form an opinion with. So don't let any doctor con you into this at present. Standby for updates, or start here:
http://callierlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/initial-clinical-experience-with-a-totally-implantable-cochlear-implant-research-device/
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You can't turn it off, though they might include a brainy skin bump switch to press, and to adjust the volume as well (---e.g., press twice to reduce, etc.). But consider that hearing people can't turn off or reduce their hearing either (except with ear plugs).
Its buried microphone is an electronic chip that picks up sound from the eardrum and skull, and relays it as impulses into the cochlea. Unfortunately, it will also pick up internal body noises (like pounding of your heart when excited). A hiccup might sound like a sonic boom. And a sneeze?..............OMG !! If you suffer from misophonia (fear of the sounds of body functions), stay clear of this.
Does this thing work? So far, only a small number of people have received the TICI, for development and research purposes ----not enough to form an opinion with. So don't let any doctor con you into this at present. Standby for updates, or start here:
http://callierlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/initial-clinical-experience-with-a-totally-implantable-cochlear-implant-research-device/
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7. And the BAHA
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The BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) made its debut recently under the name "Cochlear Baha-5" (We don't know what the "5" is for).
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This one (like the BOCI, far above) is for hearing through the skull. Long ago a vibrator was held on the mastoid bone by a headband or eyeglass frame. Much later, for firmer connection, a metal stud was implanted into the bone behind the ear, emerging through the skin. The vibrator was solidly snapped into it from the outside, and cabled to a processor and microphone in an over-the-ear unit.
The BAHA-5 in the photo is similar, but also has it's own mike, processor, and battery. The stud can be implanted in the skull. For a lesser effect, it could be anchored to an very strong magnet implanted under the skin.
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The BAHA-5 in the photo is similar, but also has it's own mike, processor, and battery. The stud can be implanted in the skull. For a lesser effect, it could be anchored to an very strong magnet implanted under the skin.
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Look What's Coming: The Darkness Cure !!
An entire one-third of the human cerebral cortex is for
vision. It is believed that some of that can be rewired for hearing. It's a natural process called neural reorganization. (If you prefer fancier names, it's
cross-modal neuroplasticity).
Scientists at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland, are experimenting with just that. They kept laboratory mice in total darkness for long time periods, while creating sounds of interest to the mice. The brains of the mice naturally did rewire away from their eyesight to improve their hearing. (But did it degrade their vision?).
We will stay on top of this for you.
Read about re-wiring of deaf human brains on our Page 12.
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An entire one-third of the human cerebral cortex is for
vision. It is believed that some of that can be rewired for hearing. It's a natural process called neural reorganization. (If you prefer fancier names, it's
cross-modal neuroplasticity).
Scientists at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland, are experimenting with just that. They kept laboratory mice in total darkness for long time periods, while creating sounds of interest to the mice. The brains of the mice naturally did rewire away from their eyesight to improve their hearing. (But did it degrade their vision?).
We will stay on top of this for you.
Read about re-wiring of deaf human brains on our Page 12.
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OMG !! Now the Ultimate, the Printed Ear !!
Scientists at Princeton University, using 3D printing technique, but with organic materials, have created a "human ear that can actually hear!!". And OMG!!, they say it can hear better than a normal ear!!
Quoting the lead scientist at Princeton, this effort was to "build and grow the biology up with electronics synergistically in a 3D interwoven format". Huh? Oh come on, cut the bio-babble and tell us where that spiraled cable goes -----to the auditory cortex or what? Does it have an inner ear with a cochlea and all that? And what happens to the original external ear when this prosthetic ear is attached?
It does ignite some visions, like those Japanese predictions on our Page 6. In the year 2023 a deaf person enters the hospital and leaves next morning as a "hearie" with his grafted-on 3D printed ears.
We'll be digging up more on this great white hope. Standby.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/bionic-ear_n_3224379.html?utm_hp_ref=technology
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Quoting the lead scientist at Princeton, this effort was to "build and grow the biology up with electronics synergistically in a 3D interwoven format". Huh? Oh come on, cut the bio-babble and tell us where that spiraled cable goes -----to the auditory cortex or what? Does it have an inner ear with a cochlea and all that? And what happens to the original external ear when this prosthetic ear is attached?
It does ignite some visions, like those Japanese predictions on our Page 6. In the year 2023 a deaf person enters the hospital and leaves next morning as a "hearie" with his grafted-on 3D printed ears.
We'll be digging up more on this great white hope. Standby.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/bionic-ear_n_3224379.html?utm_hp_ref=technology
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No, No, Wait, HERE is the Ultimate.............
The Total Conquest of Deafness !!
..........................and here's the proof !!
You've surely read the media hype that the cochlear implant will eventually eradicate deafness. It won't, and informed people know It won't. But two other things will.
All that fancy medical stuff above, and all similar implanted, stuck-in, or hung-on devices, (including the cochlear implant) will eventually become obsolete, because deafness will become extinct!!
Yes, yes, you read that correctly!! Read on................
The Total Conquest of Deafness !!
..........................and here's the proof !!
You've surely read the media hype that the cochlear implant will eventually eradicate deafness. It won't, and informed people know It won't. But two other things will.
All that fancy medical stuff above, and all similar implanted, stuck-in, or hung-on devices, (including the cochlear implant) will eventually become obsolete, because deafness will become extinct!!
Yes, yes, you read that correctly!! Read on................
Gene engineering and Cell regeneration will prevent and erdicate deafness. These fields are now the hotcakes of medical science. Their researchers are the brightest bulbs in the box, smartest guys and gals in the room.
Meet the actual mouse of this great event, above, born deaf and given full normal hearing. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Boston's Childrens Hospital re-arranged his genes ----living proof it can be done !!
Note his perked-up ears and amazed expression as he listens to REAL sound! When fully developed for humans, a pill or a shot in the arm is all it will take. POOF!! -----and that’s the end of it.
(They didn't name him but we'll call him Melvin and you'll meet him again on Page 20). You can read about it here (it's from no-baloney Reuters and thus it's surely true):
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/01/us-mice-gene-idUSKCN0R14CK20150901
Meet the actual mouse of this great event, above, born deaf and given full normal hearing. Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Boston's Childrens Hospital re-arranged his genes ----living proof it can be done !!
Note his perked-up ears and amazed expression as he listens to REAL sound! When fully developed for humans, a pill or a shot in the arm is all it will take. POOF!! -----and that’s the end of it.
(They didn't name him but we'll call him Melvin and you'll meet him again on Page 20). You can read about it here (it's from no-baloney Reuters and thus it's surely true):
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/01/us-mice-gene-idUSKCN0R14CK20150901
Here's one procedure. It restores the cochlea.
Total Elimination of All Deafness: When will this medical triumph (or calamity) transpire?
We’d guess in the last quarter of this century. Most of us reading this now, won’t be here then. We’ll be in flowing white robes watching everything from up in the clouds, along with a gloating Dr. Prosper Meniere (for whom Meniere’s Disease is named). He’s the one who made the famous proclamation:
“......deafness is an infirmity and we [medical people] must repair it whether the person who has it is disturbed by it or not”.
(BTW, our article "A Cure in the Afterlife" up in the column on the right, infers that there is no deafness in heaven. So try hard to qualify to get up there, if none of the present cures work for you down here).
“......deafness is an infirmity and we [medical people] must repair it whether the person who has it is disturbed by it or not”.
(BTW, our article "A Cure in the Afterlife" up in the column on the right, infers that there is no deafness in heaven. So try hard to qualify to get up there, if none of the present cures work for you down here).
With all deafness gone on earth, Sign Language will survive and prosper.
Yes, you read that correctly, too!!
Sign laguage of the Deaf is very admired now, and many hearing people want to learn it as a second language. This will accelerate exponentially, even as deaf people begin to disappear.
Eventually, all hearing people throughout the world will be using sign concurrently and equally with spoken language for its many, many advantages. Children will pick it up in their cribs and at their mothers' knees.
Sign laguage of the Deaf is very admired now, and many hearing people want to learn it as a second language. This will accelerate exponentially, even as deaf people begin to disappear.
Eventually, all hearing people throughout the world will be using sign concurrently and equally with spoken language for its many, many advantages. Children will pick it up in their cribs and at their mothers' knees.
Even space aliens will pick up SL when they visit earth. This one is signing "d" (Even though thy have only 3 fingers and a thumb per hand, they can sign the whole single-hand alphabet ----and the 2-hand alphabet too, but by tapping the 4th finger twice for "U").
Did you ever dream that everyone will use the Deaf sign language of their country)? ------and all users will be hearing, since no deaf people will be left? (Read what we wrote on our Page 13, A Manual Form of Speech.)
What used to be "Deaf Culture" will become an elective for a degree in some related subject. Sign interpreters, Deaf clubs, and all that won't exist. The place to see an electronic hearing aid will be in a museum showcase next to the ear trumpets display. Cochlear implants and everything-else-implants will survive as photographs and diagrams in medical history books.
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The Conquest of Deafness
Did you ever dream that everyone will use the Deaf sign language of their country)? ------and all users will be hearing, since no deaf people will be left? (Read what we wrote on our Page 13, A Manual Form of Speech.)
What used to be "Deaf Culture" will become an elective for a degree in some related subject. Sign interpreters, Deaf clubs, and all that won't exist. The place to see an electronic hearing aid will be in a museum showcase next to the ear trumpets display. Cochlear implants and everything-else-implants will survive as photographs and diagrams in medical history books.
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The Conquest of Deafness
This is all it will take, a pill or a shot...........
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SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE BRAINY DEAF SITE
Watch Senator Tom Harkin talking (with a bit of signing) at the DNC, July, 2016 [ Page 14 ]
Tributes to Alec Naiman, Oliver Sacks, and Audree Norton [ Page 6 ]
Granville Redmond [ Page 7 ]
Cat and baby girl using sign language [ Page 5 ]
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OUR MOST-VIEWED PAGES SO FAR THIS MONTH ARE (in this order):
1 (by far)........ then 7, 10, 6, and 8
OUR LEAST-VIEWED PAGE (SADLY !!) IS PAGE 15..........
and has been so for a long time. Please go there. It's all on the deaf Goya, who ranks in art like Beethoven does in music. He is one of the greatest artists who ever lived, and his deafness is greatly responsible for it. His work after his deafness acquired immense power.
Find out why it is said that if he wasn't deaf, he would have left us common and "proper" art we would barely look at, and that very few people today would have ever heard of him.
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SOME RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE BRAINY DEAF SITE
Watch Senator Tom Harkin talking (with a bit of signing) at the DNC, July, 2016 [ Page 14 ]
Tributes to Alec Naiman, Oliver Sacks, and Audree Norton [ Page 6 ]
Granville Redmond [ Page 7 ]
Cat and baby girl using sign language [ Page 5 ]
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OUR MOST-VIEWED PAGES SO FAR THIS MONTH ARE (in this order):
1 (by far)........ then 7, 10, 6, and 8
OUR LEAST-VIEWED PAGE (SADLY !!) IS PAGE 15..........
and has been so for a long time. Please go there. It's all on the deaf Goya, who ranks in art like Beethoven does in music. He is one of the greatest artists who ever lived, and his deafness is greatly responsible for it. His work after his deafness acquired immense power.
Find out why it is said that if he wasn't deaf, he would have left us common and "proper" art we would barely look at, and that very few people today would have ever heard of him.
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Just Added--- Dad of the Year
OMG, what's that thing he's wearing? Not what you think !! Go to Page 20, bottom right _____________________________________________
OMG, what's that thing he's wearing? Not what you think !! Go to Page 20, bottom right _____________________________________________
La Muta
The identity of this woman in La Muta ("The Mute Woman") by the great Italian Renaissance painter, Raphael, is a mystery. Nobody knows if she's deaf.
We feel she was and "looks" so. And you..............?
There's a poll below her picture on Page 7. Your opinion would be most appreciated. We'll publish the result if enough readers participate.
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Going Deaf in Havana
We just heard about this (August, 2017). Several American diplomats stationed at the new US embassy in Cuba have mysteriously acquired "severe hearing impairment" there. There's a theory in the air, that it was deliberately caused by the Cubans, via sonic beams to secretly record conversations at the embassy. Read about it here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-expels-2-cuban-diplomats-after-incidents-in-cuba/2017/08/09/5f6e0d84-7d62-11e7-b2b1-aeba62854dfa_story.html?utm_term=.0b8d312c4315
The identity of this woman in La Muta ("The Mute Woman") by the great Italian Renaissance painter, Raphael, is a mystery. Nobody knows if she's deaf.
We feel she was and "looks" so. And you..............?
There's a poll below her picture on Page 7. Your opinion would be most appreciated. We'll publish the result if enough readers participate.
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Going Deaf in Havana
We just heard about this (August, 2017). Several American diplomats stationed at the new US embassy in Cuba have mysteriously acquired "severe hearing impairment" there. There's a theory in the air, that it was deliberately caused by the Cubans, via sonic beams to secretly record conversations at the embassy. Read about it here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-expels-2-cuban-diplomats-after-incidents-in-cuba/2017/08/09/5f6e0d84-7d62-11e7-b2b1-aeba62854dfa_story.html?utm_term=.0b8d312c4315
What ?!?!! OMG, Here Comes a Deafness Epidemic !!
Viagra, the most popular erectile-dysfunction (ED) drug, can make men deaf !! So can those other PDE-5 inhibitor drugs for ED ----Levitra, Ciallis, etc. Five billion dollars of these drugs are sold annually ! OMG, here comes an epidemic !!!
Read about it here:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/05May/Pages/viagra-linked-to-hearing-loss.aspx
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Read about it here:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/05May/Pages/viagra-linked-to-hearing-loss.aspx
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According to Rabbi ben Dahabi...............
The great Talmudic Rabbi, Yoykhannon (Johanan) ben Dahabi provided this divinely inspired fact:
"If a child is born deaf, it's because the parents were talking to each other at the moment of conception".
He had a menu of situations during sex that caused different physical disabilities for the child. He managed to get all that valuable information into the Babylonian Talmud (see Nedarim 20b).
Sources: Jewcy.com, and Born to Kvetch, Michael Wax, St. Martins Press
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The great Talmudic Rabbi, Yoykhannon (Johanan) ben Dahabi provided this divinely inspired fact:
"If a child is born deaf, it's because the parents were talking to each other at the moment of conception".
He had a menu of situations during sex that caused different physical disabilities for the child. He managed to get all that valuable information into the Babylonian Talmud (see Nedarim 20b).
Sources: Jewcy.com, and Born to Kvetch, Michael Wax, St. Martins Press
~~~~~~
According to St. Augustine...................
St. Augustine (d. 430 AD) unfortunately stuck his nose into this too. He is said to have preached that a child born deaf, or otherwise not normal, was made that way to reflect the sins of one or both parents. He surely damaged many lives with that.
Many families covered their shame by mistreating, hiding, and rejecting disabled children. Wealthy families often banished them to convents and monasteries. Others buried them in almshouses, prisons, hospitals, colonies, or charitable institutions.
As if this troublemaker didn't do enough damage, he went on to say that sacraments and redemption of the Catholic Church were denied to deaf people. That was based on his unimaginative reading of St. Paul in
Romans 10:17:
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God.
(There's a similar statement in Romans 10:14. Actually, these statements certainly referred to acceptance and belief, not to human hearing.)
In fairness to the Saint, it is not certain that he actually said or believed any of this ----it's attributed to him only in the writings of others.
~~~~~
Many families covered their shame by mistreating, hiding, and rejecting disabled children. Wealthy families often banished them to convents and monasteries. Others buried them in almshouses, prisons, hospitals, colonies, or charitable institutions.
As if this troublemaker didn't do enough damage, he went on to say that sacraments and redemption of the Catholic Church were denied to deaf people. That was based on his unimaginative reading of St. Paul in
Romans 10:17:
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God.
(There's a similar statement in Romans 10:14. Actually, these statements certainly referred to acceptance and belief, not to human hearing.)
In fairness to the Saint, it is not certain that he actually said or believed any of this ----it's attributed to him only in the writings of others.
~~~~~
Another troublemaker...........
........was John Calvin (d.1564) ----- lawyer, pastor, and controversial religious theologian, the founder of Calvinism. From his scrambled eggs brain came the belief that people are selected by God before birth, for salvation after their deaths. Those pre-rejected are marked with physical and mental disabilities, such as lameness and deafness, to carry through their lives as a warning to others. What those rejected did wrong before they even existed, we have no idea. Ask him.
~~~~~
........was John Calvin (d.1564) ----- lawyer, pastor, and controversial religious theologian, the founder of Calvinism. From his scrambled eggs brain came the belief that people are selected by God before birth, for salvation after their deaths. Those pre-rejected are marked with physical and mental disabilities, such as lameness and deafness, to carry through their lives as a warning to others. What those rejected did wrong before they even existed, we have no idea. Ask him.
~~~~~
Martin Luther (d. 1546), directed his fury against the feeble minded, believing them infested with Satan. That surely included deaf people of his time. He wrote that feeble minded children should be drowned as their souls were corrupted or missing. (We wonder how many actually were, thanks to him). Despite that extreme vileness, he read St. Paul (Romans 10:17) correctly. He wrote that "to the word of God,
nothing is deaf", that deafness referred only to "inward ears", to belief within the mind.
~~~~~
The four above, and others with their weird religious theories, can be thanked for many lives damaged. Also for what even to this very day survives, particularly in East European culture (and some others as well) -----that disabled children are a divine punishment, and a shame upon the family.
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nothing is deaf", that deafness referred only to "inward ears", to belief within the mind.
~~~~~
The four above, and others with their weird religious theories, can be thanked for many lives damaged. Also for what even to this very day survives, particularly in East European culture (and some others as well) -----that disabled children are a divine punishment, and a shame upon the family.
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Desparately Seeking a Deafness Cure?
Ever considered getting hit by lightning? Your chances of getting hit are sixty times better than winning the state lottery ------much better if you hang out on a golf course with a metal-tipped umbrella during a thunderstorm. The fatality rate is less than 20%.
Gary Lockhart, in his Electrical Healing and the Violet Ray, tells of a farmer profoundly deaf 11 years, who got zonked by lightning in 1980 and was fully cured of deafness -----with a bonus: all the hair grew back on his bald spot.
Not convinced? Keep reading ............
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POOF !! 60 Years of Deafness Gone in an Instant !!
The first clipping below is from 1911. Yes, deaf sixty years and fully cured by a thunderbolt in a split second!! It's from the no-hysteria,
no-sensationalism, no-baloney New York Times, so it must be absolutely true. Who cares about her house? She recovered her hearing !!! Scroll down to LIGHTNING CURES DEAFNESS.
And this one 19 years earlier (June 10, 1892)-------
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"At Last Medical Science Has Conquered Deafness"
Quoting from the ad (below), Dr. G.F. Webb's "Galvanic Electro Medical Harness .........a triumph of skill", is "curing thousands all over the land". Wear it "for a few hours daily" either in daytime or while sleeping, "until a cure is obtained". "It cures all deafness, including that caused by youthful indescretions." ("Youthful indescretions"? Grandpa said that naughty habit makes boys blind. Huh, WHAT ?!?! It makes them deaf, too? OMG !!)
"At Last Medical Science Has Conquered Deafness"
Quoting from the ad (below), Dr. G.F. Webb's "Galvanic Electro Medical Harness .........a triumph of skill", is "curing thousands all over the land". Wear it "for a few hours daily" either in daytime or while sleeping, "until a cure is obtained". "It cures all deafness, including that caused by youthful indescretions." ("Youthful indescretions"? Grandpa said that naughty habit makes boys blind. Huh, WHAT ?!?! It makes them deaf, too? OMG !!)
Here's a similar marvel from a
Dr. Huber in New York City.
It is shown with "ear electrodes" in place, to cure any "deafness pronounced incurable". Its ad says that the battery is dry-cell, the voltage low, and the alternating frequency is 65 cycles/second. It sold for under $10 (about $240 in present money), plus the cost of periodic battery replacement. For further information, go to:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthpicturegalleries/9519906/Cocaine-tooth-drops-morphine-teething-syrup-and-other-Victorian-quack-cures.html?frame=2328295
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Dr. Huber in New York City.
It is shown with "ear electrodes" in place, to cure any "deafness pronounced incurable". Its ad says that the battery is dry-cell, the voltage low, and the alternating frequency is 65 cycles/second. It sold for under $10 (about $240 in present money), plus the cost of periodic battery replacement. For further information, go to:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthpicturegalleries/9519906/Cocaine-tooth-drops-morphine-teething-syrup-and-other-Victorian-quack-cures.html?frame=2328295
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"Dr. P. Hall's Celebrated Catarrh Remedy for Deafness"
This cure claimed 90% of all deafness is caused by catarrh (blockage and inflamation in the Eustachian tube).
Dr. Hall's Celebrated Catarrh Remedy,
50 cents per bottle (about $12 in 2017 dollars) was backed by a monetary guarantee. One hundred dollars
( = $2,400 today) was to be paid out for any catarrh deafness that could not be cured by Dr. Hall's Celebrated Catarrh Remedy !!. (To collect, you'd need to prove it's catarrh, and doesn't fall into that other "10%" of deafness types).
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Hey, wait !! Forget the bearded guy up there. Dr. J.H. Moore's ad (BELOW) has a much better deal. His "Aerial Medication" cures ALL types of deafness, not only catarrh ----and he even throws in cures for lung and throat diseases. And you get a free three months trial !! No way to beat that !!
Read Mr. Edw. William's sworn testimonial in the ad below ---- deaf 25 years and POOF---- cured in one week!! Dr. Moore has another ad out with a Mr. Coleman, also deaf 25 years and now "can hear a clock strike in another room 30 feet away" !! Isn't that amazing ??!!
Dr. Hall's Celebrated Catarrh Remedy,
50 cents per bottle (about $12 in 2017 dollars) was backed by a monetary guarantee. One hundred dollars
( = $2,400 today) was to be paid out for any catarrh deafness that could not be cured by Dr. Hall's Celebrated Catarrh Remedy !!. (To collect, you'd need to prove it's catarrh, and doesn't fall into that other "10%" of deafness types).
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Hey, wait !! Forget the bearded guy up there. Dr. J.H. Moore's ad (BELOW) has a much better deal. His "Aerial Medication" cures ALL types of deafness, not only catarrh ----and he even throws in cures for lung and throat diseases. And you get a free three months trial !! No way to beat that !!
Read Mr. Edw. William's sworn testimonial in the ad below ---- deaf 25 years and POOF---- cured in one week!! Dr. Moore has another ad out with a Mr. Coleman, also deaf 25 years and now "can hear a clock strike in another room 30 feet away" !! Isn't that amazing ??!!
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Get Cured with the Actina Ozone Battery
The Actina marvel arrived in the 1890s -----a cure for a host of ailments of the lung, eye, and ear. A metal cylinder 3 inches long, it had two open ends ----the wide one to hold over the eye (for eye ailments), the narrow one against a nostril for inhaling (for the other ailments).
Either way it yielded the vapor of mostly mustard oil in the fabric around the perforated core (see cross-sectional image). Inhaled, the vapor increased mobility of your earbones and also removed catarrh deposits, effectively curing most deafness (since their ad says 98% of all deafness is due to catarrh).
Get Cured with the Actina Ozone Battery
The Actina marvel arrived in the 1890s -----a cure for a host of ailments of the lung, eye, and ear. A metal cylinder 3 inches long, it had two open ends ----the wide one to hold over the eye (for eye ailments), the narrow one against a nostril for inhaling (for the other ailments).
Either way it yielded the vapor of mostly mustard oil in the fabric around the perforated core (see cross-sectional image). Inhaled, the vapor increased mobility of your earbones and also removed catarrh deposits, effectively curing most deafness (since their ad says 98% of all deafness is due to catarrh).
|
|
|
Actina was advertised as an "ozone battery". The rims touching the skin were zinc-plated and the central part held in your fingers was copper-plated. This caused a bi-metallic (galvanic) reaction, bringing the wonder of electricity into the cures. As a battery it could be "recharged" (that is, reloaded with fresh oils by the manufacturer, for a fee of course).
It retailed at $10 ($275 in 2017 money) or 50% off if you needed to be convinced to buy. It was around for 20 years, so this little marvel must have cured a great many eye, ear. and lung ailments.
It retailed at $10 ($275 in 2017 money) or 50% off if you needed to be convinced to buy. It was around for 20 years, so this little marvel must have cured a great many eye, ear. and lung ailments.
Or Try the Blowena
The Blowena was manufactured from 1910 by Dr. Geo. P. Way, the artificial eardrum genius on the next page.
Stuff the perforated tip into a nostril and put the spout into your mouth. Then blow the "medicine vapor" up your nose into your
The Blowena was manufactured from 1910 by Dr. Geo. P. Way, the artificial eardrum genius on the next page.
Stuff the perforated tip into a nostril and put the spout into your mouth. Then blow the "medicine vapor" up your nose into your
eustachian tube, to cure your catarrh deafness ("the very large percentage cause of all deafness",
according to the ad).
The ad also claims it works for head colds, hay fever, and influenza. This little plastic marvel went for $3 (which is about $75 in 2017 money).
according to the ad).
The ad also claims it works for head colds, hay fever, and influenza. This little plastic marvel went for $3 (which is about $75 in 2017 money).
If Nothing Works, Get Cured in the Afterlife
"I will hear again in heaven" wrote Ludvig von Beethoven before he died.
And he did! The English medium, Rosemary Brown (at left, d. 2001) played unique pieces on the piano dictated by supernatural contact with famous dead composers. She didn't possess the training to create that music herself ---and some experts were flabbergasted.
She reported that Beethoven was not deaf in heaven !!
You can read her interesting obituary via the link below.
We like that part where she needed notes for the cover of a musical album she had just created. She requested them from Sir Donald Tovey, the famous British musicologist and composer. He graciously provided them to her in 1970. (He had died in 1940).
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/nyregion/rosemary-brown-a-friend-of- dead-composers-dies-at-85.html
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And he did! The English medium, Rosemary Brown (at left, d. 2001) played unique pieces on the piano dictated by supernatural contact with famous dead composers. She didn't possess the training to create that music herself ---and some experts were flabbergasted.
She reported that Beethoven was not deaf in heaven !!
You can read her interesting obituary via the link below.
We like that part where she needed notes for the cover of a musical album she had just created. She requested them from Sir Donald Tovey, the famous British musicologist and composer. He graciously provided them to her in 1970. (He had died in 1940).
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/nyregion/rosemary-brown-a-friend-of- dead-composers-dies-at-85.html
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"People after death become complete again. The blind can see, the deaf can hear, cripples are no longer crippled after all their vital signs have ceased to exist
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and
author of the classic "On Death and Dying", and "On Life After Death"
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Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and
author of the classic "On Death and Dying", and "On Life After Death"
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Henry, the Fellow Below from Chicago........
................. with all that poetry blasting out of his left ear, is an "M.P.C.S."
(whatever an M.P.C.S. is). His ad, below, asks why you'd want to remain deaf. It says he doesn't monkey with mere experimenting -------he CURES !!
---right in your own home!---via "The Life Method"----involving no devices, contraptions, drugs, nor similar nonsense. So, how does he do it? By chiropractics, reflexology, hypnotism, magnetism, witchcraft............ ? Send away for his free booklet to find out.
Not convinced he's worth consulting? Read Henry's parting scream at the bottom of his ad, "SILENCE IS AS DEATH". OMG, any port in a storm !!
................. with all that poetry blasting out of his left ear, is an "M.P.C.S."
(whatever an M.P.C.S. is). His ad, below, asks why you'd want to remain deaf. It says he doesn't monkey with mere experimenting -------he CURES !!
---right in your own home!---via "The Life Method"----involving no devices, contraptions, drugs, nor similar nonsense. So, how does he do it? By chiropractics, reflexology, hypnotism, magnetism, witchcraft............ ? Send away for his free booklet to find out.
Not convinced he's worth consulting? Read Henry's parting scream at the bottom of his ad, "SILENCE IS AS DEATH". OMG, any port in a storm !!
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The Electro-Pneumatic Pump-&-Shock Deafness Cure
The high-tech wonder of its time!
Dr. Guy Clifford Powell's "Electro-Pneumatic Apparatus for the Cure of Deafness", was made in Peoria
c. 1905. It pumped air into and out of the ears, then sent electrical shocks through the head with water-soaked electrodes stuffed into the
ear canals.
It was sold via advertising, direct to the user, and retailed then for $100 (which is about $2,750 today).
Dr. Powell says in his ad:
"Deafness Cured at Last. Wonderful New Discovery for the Positive Cure of Deafness and Head Noises. At last, after years of study and research, the wonderful Nature Forces have been harnessed together and Deafness can be cured. If I did not know positively that my method could cure I would not allow my name to be connected with this treatment."
For a detailed description of his pump-&-shock marvel, go to: http://www.nolindan.com/lindancollection/ql208.html
c. 1905. It pumped air into and out of the ears, then sent electrical shocks through the head with water-soaked electrodes stuffed into the
ear canals.
It was sold via advertising, direct to the user, and retailed then for $100 (which is about $2,750 today).
Dr. Powell says in his ad:
"Deafness Cured at Last. Wonderful New Discovery for the Positive Cure of Deafness and Head Noises. At last, after years of study and research, the wonderful Nature Forces have been harnessed together and Deafness can be cured. If I did not know positively that my method could cure I would not allow my name to be connected with this treatment."
For a detailed description of his pump-&-shock marvel, go to: http://www.nolindan.com/lindancollection/ql208.html
Meet the Mesmerizing
Dr. Guy C. Powell of
Pump-&-Shock Fame
Dr. Guy Clifford Powell's ad assures us that his device (above) makes deafness and tinnitus "disappear as if by magic", regardless of the
cause and duration.
It claims the results of this treatment developed by this "famous physician-scientist have left the world astounded".
Dr. Guy C. Powell of
Pump-&-Shock Fame
Dr. Guy Clifford Powell's ad assures us that his device (above) makes deafness and tinnitus "disappear as if by magic", regardless of the
cause and duration.
It claims the results of this treatment developed by this "famous physician-scientist have left the world astounded".
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Have You Tried Monophasic Diathermy?
Have You Tried Monophasic Diathermy?
This (Oh-My-GOD !!) Frankenstein helmet was made of brass in Turin, Italy in the latter 19th century. It would scare the pants off anyone. But that's only because you are seeing it with all its applicators in place (and that staring storage dummy is of no help).
Relax !! The whole caboodle sits on your head, but only what's needed to cure a particular disorder, will be activated. E.g., note the two coiled wires from the battery box and wave-generator. They go to the proper pins for treatment only of migraine headache.
It applied monophasic current (stop-and-go pulses of a special peaked waveform) to the skin, causing rapid contractions of muscles and tissues. You can see the adaptors for curing deafness and eye disorders, along with those for numerous other cures.
Relax !! The whole caboodle sits on your head, but only what's needed to cure a particular disorder, will be activated. E.g., note the two coiled wires from the battery box and wave-generator. They go to the proper pins for treatment only of migraine headache.
It applied monophasic current (stop-and-go pulses of a special peaked waveform) to the skin, causing rapid contractions of muscles and tissues. You can see the adaptors for curing deafness and eye disorders, along with those for numerous other cures.
Shown here curing a man's deafness, is this advanced 1920's monophasic diathermy device. Wow, look at that chest with its giant battery bank and monophasic wave generator !! Science and medicine march on together!
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"Incurably" Deaf? Find That Cure in Dr. Hovent's
Opulent Air-Bath Grande Salon
Dr. Julian J. Hovent of Brussels was an "aerotherapeutist", or one who cures with air (a title coined at that time, probably for himself). He cured deafness in the 1890s by raising the atmospheric pressure within a sealed chamber. Two weeks of 3-hour sessions in one of these elaborate chambers, produced wonder cures described in his book, "A New Treatment of the
So-Called Incurably Deaf People". Note the cozy living room decor within the chamber, in which to relax as you get cured.
OMG, look at those monster hermetic chambers and man-sized tanks of compressed air ! The financial investment was obviously enormous. Surely this must have been very effective in its purpose.
Read about this marvel on the UCL Institute site where we found it:
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/library-rnid/2013/03/
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So-Called Incurably Deaf People". Note the cozy living room decor within the chamber, in which to relax as you get cured.
OMG, look at those monster hermetic chambers and man-sized tanks of compressed air ! The financial investment was obviously enormous. Surely this must have been very effective in its purpose.
Read about this marvel on the UCL Institute site where we found it:
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/library-rnid/2013/03/
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Salvation Out of a Bottle
"Hopelessly" Deaf 20 years? Have You Tried
Dr. Cooper's Ethereal Oil?
Read the ad below, and be convinced.
("Ethereal" means something too exquisite for this world)
Cooper's Ethereal Oil, "acoustic medicine" derived from walnut bark and three other wonder substances, has provided (according to its ad, below) a "perfect cure" for "hundreds of cases" of deafness "deemed utterly hopeless". Since it was around for 15 years from 1840, a few swigs of this "prompt and lasting remedy" must have cured a lot of deafness. It sold for $2 a bottle (about $50 in today's money).
"Hopelessly" Deaf 20 years? Have You Tried
Dr. Cooper's Ethereal Oil?
Read the ad below, and be convinced.
("Ethereal" means something too exquisite for this world)
Cooper's Ethereal Oil, "acoustic medicine" derived from walnut bark and three other wonder substances, has provided (according to its ad, below) a "perfect cure" for "hundreds of cases" of deafness "deemed utterly hopeless". Since it was around for 15 years from 1840, a few swigs of this "prompt and lasting remedy" must have cured a lot of deafness. It sold for $2 a bottle (about $50 in today's money).
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Hey, wait !! There were other oils to cure deafness, perhaps more effectively. One was Dr. McNair's Oil. In a sales gimmick aimed at certain European immigrants, it got cloned as "Dr. Larzetti's Oil".
There was of course no Dr. Larzetti, but there must have been a real Dr. McNair somewhere. __________________________________________ 
Want To Get Cured
in 48 Hours? As advertised, Dr. S.N. Thomas' Eclectric Oil could cure deafness in two days. It could cure 15 other ills as well. It sold for 70 years from the 1840's on. The catchy non-word "eclectric" combined its variety of cures with the mystic of electricity (which had nothing to do with it ---it was made of alcohol, turpentine, camphor, and oil of tar). For curing deafness, it was to be either vaporized for inhaling, or applied as a liniment to the mastoid bones. Who could resist that cute kitten? _____________________________________ |
White Eagle's Indian Oil was a liniment for rheumatism, hay fever, stiff joints, and all that, but you needed to inhale its vapor to cure your catarrh deafness. Originally, it was Rattlesnake Oil as were several other "old Indian remedy" oils.
This stuff, originally from the 19th Cent. is still around under various names; e.g.--- You can buy rattlesnake oil soap tomorrow morning from Amazon. ________________ |
Snake-Oil Liniment was the thing to use for many ills, but if your problem was deafness, note the bottom lines of the ad below. To cure deafness, choose "specially prepared Pure Rattlesnake Oil". We'd love to know what the "specially prepared" procedure was.
Inhale Your Cure From the Eureka Nebulizer
This is the tabletop version of the Eureka Nebulizer, an American-made vaporizer from 1900. You pressurize it via its hand pump. Then breathe the forced vapor from one (or a combination) of the differently-compounded liquids, depending on what's to be cured. It cured respiratory diseases, and deafness as well "by massaging the middle ear".
("Eureka"= an expression of joy at the moment of a great discovery).
("To Nebulize"= to create a vapor or spray from a liquid).
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("Eureka"= an expression of joy at the moment of a great discovery).
("To Nebulize"= to create a vapor or spray from a liquid).
_________________________________________________________________
|
Cure Yourself With
Dr. Coutant's Home Treatment Dr. George E. Coutant, MD of New York City, advertised his Coutant Home Treatment Cure for Deafness in the 1890s and for almost 30 years after, in full-page ads and through a scholarly 32-page booklet. He claimed a 95% cure-rate. His kit contained a glass nasal douche, tablets for making douching and gargling solutions, a salve for your mastoid bones, and varieties of pills. Seen at the top is his hi-tech "Kotalizer", a metal nasal inhaler (stuffed with mustard oil like the Actina, above, plus camphor and whatnot). Quite impressive. If no result, you were urged to continue purchasing kits until cured. They went for $10 ($275 today) or $5, or finally $3 depending on how much of a push you needed to renew. ___________________________ |
The Complete Courant Home Treatment Cure Exclusively for Deafness and Tinnitus, Includes the "Kotalizer"
("Kotalizer" is the doc's catch-word for catalyzer, to accelerate a reaction)
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OH, BTW...... You've surely noticed in our articles, that money back then was worth much more than it is today (e.g. that $10 for Dr. Courant's miracle cure in the 1890s is like $275 today). It's ongoing. Every dollar in your pocket today will be worth less a year from now. How come? Read
The Inflation Swindle by Ernest J. Oppenheimer, Prentice Hall, 1977.
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The Inflation Swindle by Ernest J. Oppenheimer, Prentice Hall, 1977.
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For Less Fuss, Try Dr. Coffee's Single-Substance Cure
Now if you don't want to choke on pills or stick applicators up your nose, consider Dr. William O. Coffee's single-substance cure for deafness, his Ointment #48.
Merely apply a small glob twice daily into each nostril and inhale deeply until consumed. Repeat until your deafness is gone. Simple?
Merely apply a small glob twice daily into each nostril and inhale deeply until consumed. Repeat until your deafness is gone. Simple?
Dr. Coffee was a midwest opthamologist of dubious credentials, who nevertheless created salves and such to cure ocular diseases. As his stuff was peddled for 45 years (1882 - 1927), he must have cured a lot of blindness.
To spread his cures more liberally, he threw in a few ointments for other ills, including this "Prescription No. 48 Treatment for Deafness".
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Have You Tried Dr. Lensky's
Hearium Gamma-Radiation Cure?
Radiation was a fascination when radium was discovered in 1898. In the early 1920's, a Dr. Charles Lensky of
St. Luis manufactured his " Radium Ear" for the cure of deafness. It was tube containing a radio-active substance, to be held against the ear.
Dr. Lensky claimed it cured deafness via gamma-radiation from "Hearium".
We don't see Hearium in the Table of Elements. Maybe the name was a sales gimmick. It might have been a blob of clay-like substance containing radium salts, or else it was something he dug up in his back yard. Whatever, according to Dr. Lensky, it worked ----it cured deafness.!!
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Hearium Gamma-Radiation Cure?
Radiation was a fascination when radium was discovered in 1898. In the early 1920's, a Dr. Charles Lensky of
St. Luis manufactured his " Radium Ear" for the cure of deafness. It was tube containing a radio-active substance, to be held against the ear.
Dr. Lensky claimed it cured deafness via gamma-radiation from "Hearium".
We don't see Hearium in the Table of Elements. Maybe the name was a sales gimmick. It might have been a blob of clay-like substance containing radium salts, or else it was something he dug up in his back yard. Whatever, according to Dr. Lensky, it worked ----it cured deafness.!!
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Crystal Clear Hearing in 17 Days !!
The 200-year old father-to-son Amish secret for turning deafness into "crystal clear" hearing in 17 days, is revealed NOW in this e~Book.
45,000 successful cures are claimed to stand behind it. The priceless secret is yours for 50% off, or $39.95. Type "AMISH 17-DAY CURE" into Google. Do it NOW. Don't let this get away !!
The 200-year old father-to-son Amish secret for turning deafness into "crystal clear" hearing in 17 days, is revealed NOW in this e~Book.
45,000 successful cures are claimed to stand behind it. The priceless secret is yours for 50% off, or $39.95. Type "AMISH 17-DAY CURE" into Google. Do it NOW. Don't let this get away !!
Can't Wait ? Only 14 Days for This One!!
This Navajo Medicine Man's cure from over 100 years ago is revealed in this book for under $40, available early in 2017. Join the claimed 33,477 people whose hearing was restored in just 14 days! Read about it here and be amazed:
navajohearingfix.com/
This Navajo Medicine Man's cure from over 100 years ago is revealed in this book for under $40, available early in 2017. Join the claimed 33,477 people whose hearing was restored in just 14 days! Read about it here and be amazed:
navajohearingfix.com/
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Meet Dr. Ignoramus
Dr. Jean-Marc Itard, the eminent French surgeon, founded otolaryngology, discovered Tourette’s Syndrome, co-discovered Itard-Cholewa’s Syndrome, invented the Eustachian catheter, etc.
Impressive. However, this glory-seeking medical ignoramus, while resident physician at the school,
The National Institute for Deaf Mutes in Paris in the lower 19th Century, performed a long series of crackpot experiments on over 125 students to cure their deafness. He managed to seriously infect most of them, burn and mutilate ears, crack some skulls (with a hammer whack on the mastoid bone), and kill one of them ----restoring no one's hearing. You won’t see the gory details in Wikipedia. Read pp. 132ff in When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf, by Harlan Lane (PB, 1989, Vintage).
Quoting Dr. Itard from the same book after he finally threw in the towel:
"Medicine does not work on the dead, and as far as I am concerned the ear is dead in the deaf mute. There is nothing for science to do
about it".
He also flopped in applying his own teaching methods to provide speech to the deaf students. And in 40 years at that school, he never learned to sign.
There's much to learn about this strange character in the drama of Deaf Culture history.
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Meet Some More of Them
There's a 22-page collection of attempts to cure deafness at that time, by various other medical ignoramuses. It's a serious academic presentation that reads almost like a novel. If you're the type that peeks at the end of a novel to learn what happened, we'll do it for you now. The final sentence on the last page says, "....congenital deafness cannot be cured". Sorry, folks. (You would have reached the same opinion 12 pages earlier).
You can read the whole thing here:
http://aladinrc.wrlc.org/handle/1961/10234?show=full
Click on "OUTPUT. PDF" near bottom, under FILES.
UPDATE (May, 2017) ---sorry, some clod took it down.
Meet another Dr. Ignoramus on our Page 6, MacLeod Yearsly, FRCS.
_______________________________________________________________
Impressive. However, this glory-seeking medical ignoramus, while resident physician at the school,
The National Institute for Deaf Mutes in Paris in the lower 19th Century, performed a long series of crackpot experiments on over 125 students to cure their deafness. He managed to seriously infect most of them, burn and mutilate ears, crack some skulls (with a hammer whack on the mastoid bone), and kill one of them ----restoring no one's hearing. You won’t see the gory details in Wikipedia. Read pp. 132ff in When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf, by Harlan Lane (PB, 1989, Vintage).
Quoting Dr. Itard from the same book after he finally threw in the towel:
"Medicine does not work on the dead, and as far as I am concerned the ear is dead in the deaf mute. There is nothing for science to do
about it".
He also flopped in applying his own teaching methods to provide speech to the deaf students. And in 40 years at that school, he never learned to sign.
There's much to learn about this strange character in the drama of Deaf Culture history.
______________________________________________________________
Meet Some More of Them
There's a 22-page collection of attempts to cure deafness at that time, by various other medical ignoramuses. It's a serious academic presentation that reads almost like a novel. If you're the type that peeks at the end of a novel to learn what happened, we'll do it for you now. The final sentence on the last page says, "....congenital deafness cannot be cured". Sorry, folks. (You would have reached the same opinion 12 pages earlier).
You can read the whole thing here:
http://aladinrc.wrlc.org/handle/1961/10234?show=full
Click on "OUTPUT. PDF" near bottom, under FILES.
UPDATE (May, 2017) ---sorry, some clod took it down.
Meet another Dr. Ignoramus on our Page 6, MacLeod Yearsly, FRCS.
_______________________________________________________________
(BELOW) From newspaper classifieds, ca. 1900. On requesting his "book of
proofs", be sure to apply to "F.Hiscox only" (not just plain old F. Hiscox) as directed in his ad. He has several competitors in that 853 Broadway building. He alone wants the honor of curing your deafness and tinnitus with his amazing "Invisible Tubular Cushions". ( We are still trying to find out what a "tubular cushion" might be).
proofs", be sure to apply to "F.Hiscox only" (not just plain old F. Hiscox) as directed in his ad. He has several competitors in that 853 Broadway building. He alone wants the honor of curing your deafness and tinnitus with his amazing "Invisible Tubular Cushions". ( We are still trying to find out what a "tubular cushion" might be).
Mr. Hiscox found someone to unscramble his sloppy home-made ad, above, so it would look more suitable to include in a periodical for physicians, below.
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BELOW, 1899) Mr.Tindall, who "tried every known treatment and device
without help", offers to cure your deafness with the same "Galvanic Electricity" that he cured himself with. For information, be sure to send that requested postage stamp with your address. Otherwise, he won't send you anything and you'll remain deaf and "most frantic with head noises".
BELOW, 1899) Mr.Tindall, who "tried every known treatment and device
without help", offers to cure your deafness with the same "Galvanic Electricity" that he cured himself with. For information, be sure to send that requested postage stamp with your address. Otherwise, he won't send you anything and you'll remain deaf and "most frantic with head noises".
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Dr. Prager's
Monster Boombox
Deafness due to stiffness of the inner ear bones can be cured by exercising the eardrums, which shakes up the ear bones, said
Dr. J. B. Prager.
His monster boom box from the 1930's bombards the patient's earphones with sounds of screaming fire engines, roaring thunder, dynamite explosions, and crashing ocean waves. OMG, what a holy racket !! Must have produced a lot of migraine headaches along with the deafness cures.
Was it successful? Who knows? We can't find anything further on this.
It may have inspired those ghetto-blasting boom boxes that arrived in the 1960's, keeping the whole neighborhood (except deaf people) awake at night.
~~~~~~
A device 20 years earlier, the De-A-Fone (read "deaf-phone") by the Deafone Company, was a racket-maker on the same principle.
~~~~~~
Monster Boombox
Deafness due to stiffness of the inner ear bones can be cured by exercising the eardrums, which shakes up the ear bones, said
Dr. J. B. Prager.
His monster boom box from the 1930's bombards the patient's earphones with sounds of screaming fire engines, roaring thunder, dynamite explosions, and crashing ocean waves. OMG, what a holy racket !! Must have produced a lot of migraine headaches along with the deafness cures.
Was it successful? Who knows? We can't find anything further on this.
It may have inspired those ghetto-blasting boom boxes that arrived in the 1960's, keeping the whole neighborhood (except deaf people) awake at night.
~~~~~~
A device 20 years earlier, the De-A-Fone (read "deaf-phone") by the Deafone Company, was a racket-maker on the same principle.
~~~~~~
Improving hearing by exercising the inner ear, was done 30 or 40 years earlier with this pretty-looking thing, the Vibraphone. Also, it treated tinnitus by over-whelming the tinnitus tones.
Various tones of adjustable loudness were generated in the headset by electrically vibrating the body of a violin.
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Various tones of adjustable loudness were generated in the headset by electrically vibrating the body of a violin.
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How Did These Three Deaf Geniuses Join Our Club?
(Ever heard of neurolabyrinthitis, ostospongiose, or
Vogt-Kayanagi-Harada Syndrome? OMG !!)
(Ever heard of neurolabyrinthitis, ostospongiose, or
Vogt-Kayanagi-Harada Syndrome? OMG !!)
Goya (on the left) holds the record for possible causes of his deafness. We will never know. Why not? You'll find that surprise on Page 15, bottom.
Beethoven (center) comes in next (with quite a load, too) ----see Page 13.
For Edison, see Page 11.
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Beethoven (center) comes in next (with quite a load, too) ----see Page 13.
For Edison, see Page 11.
_______________________________________________________________
"Yuppie Deafness" A few decades ago, impulsive young professional people ("yuppies"), awakened by their cordless phones, grabbed for the phone. The groggy (or drunk) yuppy punctured his/her eardrum with the stiff wire antenna (often with the padded tip missing by sloppy handling). Eardrums punctured from this were common enough to earn the unofficial medical term, "yuppie deafness".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Advantages of Deafness (an Ongoing Collection)
Oh yes, it does have its advantages !
Advantages of Deafness (an Ongoing Collection)
Oh yes, it does have its advantages !
Exerpt from a letter to the Editor, NY Times, 12/28/05
"[Your article on our city's noise problem] did not mention a rampant source of intense noise, snoring. The current world snoring record is 90 deciBels. This is much louder than standing next to a diesel bus engine. ....... Not only is this disruptive for next-door residents, but also for spouses, bed mates, and relationships."
Note: The present reported snoring record is 102 dB. Bass notes of that power, can make an empty wine glass walk off a table five feet away. It has been reported that very loud snoring can make a closed window shade suddenly snap up with a big bang, scaring the holy wits out of hearing sleepers. Remember, normal hearing is the only sense that does not shut off completely during sleep.
~~~~~~
From the Mouths of a Few Great Sages and Philosophers
"[Your article on our city's noise problem] did not mention a rampant source of intense noise, snoring. The current world snoring record is 90 deciBels. This is much louder than standing next to a diesel bus engine. ....... Not only is this disruptive for next-door residents, but also for spouses, bed mates, and relationships."
Note: The present reported snoring record is 102 dB. Bass notes of that power, can make an empty wine glass walk off a table five feet away. It has been reported that very loud snoring can make a closed window shade suddenly snap up with a big bang, scaring the holy wits out of hearing sleepers. Remember, normal hearing is the only sense that does not shut off completely during sleep.
~~~~~~
From the Mouths of a Few Great Sages and Philosophers
"Anything too stupid to be spoken, is sung". Voltaire (d. 1778) 
"A closed mouth gathers no flies". Benjamin Franklin (d. 1790) |
"He who speaks, knows not; he who speaks not, knows. Silence is an enormous source of strength".
Lao Tzu, 600 BCE |
"Favor me with silence". Horace (d. 0008 BCE) 
"Silence is the greatest thing humankind learns".
Palladas, 4th Century |
~~~~~~~
(LEFT) "Blow your nose and sound like a trombone". (From the Johnson-Smith novelties catalog).
"What is worse than a clarinet? Answer: Two clarinets". Ambrose Bierce
"Don't talk except to improve the silence". Old Vermont Proverb
~~~~
Excerpt, letter from an MD to the Editor, New York Times, 12/5/02---
"........my wife and I moved to Greenwich Village ...... there's no other place we'd rather inhabit. Then we discovered motorcycles. At 2 in the morning,
4 in the morning ---on some nights every 15 minutes--- a shattering jackhammer din blasts past our window. ... [After they stop at ] the next intersection, the audible testosterone storm is repeated, resurging block after block after block ----you're left a choice: leave town or sleep by bits".
(Historical note: Roman law included ordinances against the clatter of chariot wheels on cobbled pavement at night. Some residential areas in medieval Europe kept roads covered with straw to lessen the nighttime noise of carriages.)
~~~~
Excerpt from a letter to the Editor, Our Town (New York City, 11/06)
"What is the nature of the .....craft that ply the East River driven by racing engines that sound like a thundering squadron of attacking PT boats? Nothing produces a comparable deafening roar that echoes off buildings on both sides of the river, and lingers long after the craft is gone. How can one sleep in this city?".
~~~~
A computer programming firm was located in the old ex-Lincoln Hotel in New York City. It opened ten years after Lincoln's assasination. Moderate rent, but scary: remnants of gas lamp piping; staircase banisters in big swirls of black cast iron; doors ten feet high; gloomy and shadowy hallways painted dull green.
Eight female employees-- 6 hearing and 2 deaf, were constructing massive spreadsheets for a public school system. Their contract had a stiff lateness penalty; they were far behind and in a panic. To catch up, time-and-half was offered for overnight shifts. No takers.
A lawyer neighbor advised them not to stay late. He swore he sometimes hears faint voices coming out of the walls at night.
A frightened night-shift security guard quit after hearing locked doors open and close on floors dark and empty of people. And a woman swore she heard the flush of an old-fashioned gravity toilet, while passing a locked door, originally a hall lavatory stripped of plumbing many decades ago.
In short, the place was haunted.
The overnight shift offer went up to double-time plus breakfast and cabs. The two deaf employees took it. The whole hearing bunch cleared out of there in a fright before the early winter darkness. The deaf couple cleaned
up on the overtime, had superb free breakfasts, and commuted royally.
~~~~~
"....if noise is the signature tune of the world, silence is the music of the other world. Silence is the closest thing we know to the harmony of the spheres ..... In silence .... it seems as if all the windows of the world are thrown open and everything is clear as a morning after rain." Pico Iyer, Essayist
"What is worse than a clarinet? Answer: Two clarinets". Ambrose Bierce
"Don't talk except to improve the silence". Old Vermont Proverb
~~~~
Excerpt, letter from an MD to the Editor, New York Times, 12/5/02---
"........my wife and I moved to Greenwich Village ...... there's no other place we'd rather inhabit. Then we discovered motorcycles. At 2 in the morning,
4 in the morning ---on some nights every 15 minutes--- a shattering jackhammer din blasts past our window. ... [After they stop at ] the next intersection, the audible testosterone storm is repeated, resurging block after block after block ----you're left a choice: leave town or sleep by bits".
(Historical note: Roman law included ordinances against the clatter of chariot wheels on cobbled pavement at night. Some residential areas in medieval Europe kept roads covered with straw to lessen the nighttime noise of carriages.)
~~~~
Excerpt from a letter to the Editor, Our Town (New York City, 11/06)
"What is the nature of the .....craft that ply the East River driven by racing engines that sound like a thundering squadron of attacking PT boats? Nothing produces a comparable deafening roar that echoes off buildings on both sides of the river, and lingers long after the craft is gone. How can one sleep in this city?".
~~~~
A computer programming firm was located in the old ex-Lincoln Hotel in New York City. It opened ten years after Lincoln's assasination. Moderate rent, but scary: remnants of gas lamp piping; staircase banisters in big swirls of black cast iron; doors ten feet high; gloomy and shadowy hallways painted dull green.
Eight female employees-- 6 hearing and 2 deaf, were constructing massive spreadsheets for a public school system. Their contract had a stiff lateness penalty; they were far behind and in a panic. To catch up, time-and-half was offered for overnight shifts. No takers.
A lawyer neighbor advised them not to stay late. He swore he sometimes hears faint voices coming out of the walls at night.
A frightened night-shift security guard quit after hearing locked doors open and close on floors dark and empty of people. And a woman swore she heard the flush of an old-fashioned gravity toilet, while passing a locked door, originally a hall lavatory stripped of plumbing many decades ago.
In short, the place was haunted.
The overnight shift offer went up to double-time plus breakfast and cabs. The two deaf employees took it. The whole hearing bunch cleared out of there in a fright before the early winter darkness. The deaf couple cleaned
up on the overtime, had superb free breakfasts, and commuted royally.
~~~~~
"....if noise is the signature tune of the world, silence is the music of the other world. Silence is the closest thing we know to the harmony of the spheres ..... In silence .... it seems as if all the windows of the world are thrown open and everything is clear as a morning after rain." Pico Iyer, Essayist
~~~~~
"When chaos is the god of an era, clamorous music is the deity's chief instrument". Ben Okri, Nigerian Novelist
~~~~~
"By deafness, one gains in one respect more than one loses; one misses more nonsense than sense."
Horace Walpole
~~~~~
"When chaos is the god of an era, clamorous music is the deity's chief instrument". Ben Okri, Nigerian Novelist
~~~~~
"By deafness, one gains in one respect more than one loses; one misses more nonsense than sense."
Horace Walpole
~~~~~
Our driver friend (without a GPS), his wife, and her friend, all Deaf, got lost looking for Solberg Airport in New Jersey. They stopped for instructions at a group of tough-looking motor-bikers, resting on the grass. They were singing uproariously and resented the interruption. One reluctantly struggled up and walked over. He gave the requested directions in a spurt of mumbles, pointings, and arm-swings. Our friend told him, in words and gestures, “Wait. Say again please. We are Deaf. We read lips. Talk slow.”
The biker’s jaw dropped. His stunned stare went face to face "What...!!? Deaf? No hear? All three? Oh…..oh.... ohhhhhhhhhhh !" He swung toward the others, yelling excitedly and rapidly stabbing his ear. Several rose up.
A roaring royal motorcycle escort, an inverted “V’ of three bikes in front, two at the rear edges and one on the tail, took them to the airport on a long and convoluted route. On arrival, the bikers swung around back in a roar of engines, blasts of exhausts, high arm waves, and broad smiles.
That evening, our friend told us that if they weren't deaf, they'd still be looking for Solberg Airport.
________________________________________________________________
The biker’s jaw dropped. His stunned stare went face to face "What...!!? Deaf? No hear? All three? Oh…..oh.... ohhhhhhhhhhh !" He swung toward the others, yelling excitedly and rapidly stabbing his ear. Several rose up.
A roaring royal motorcycle escort, an inverted “V’ of three bikes in front, two at the rear edges and one on the tail, took them to the airport on a long and convoluted route. On arrival, the bikers swung around back in a roar of engines, blasts of exhausts, high arm waves, and broad smiles.
That evening, our friend told us that if they weren't deaf, they'd still be looking for Solberg Airport.
________________________________________________________________
