Comments on: Deafness in disguise

Deafness in disguise

madamjujujive — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 07:32:12 -0800

Concealed hearing devices of the 19th and 20th centuries. Great images in this delightful exhibit of wacky yet charming devices like auricle headphones, dentaphones, concealed beard receptors, barrettes, jewelry, hats, and acoustic chairs.

By: peacay

peacay — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 07:43:52 -0800

Mwaah! You are the MeFi magnet for the eclectically amusing & wacky. Long may you attract!

By: Foosnark

Foosnark — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 07:53:06 -0800

Fascinating stuff. Now I'm wondering if the artist at work who always wears an iPod is really listening to music or is hearing-impaired. (Or one is causing the other...)

By: melissa may

melissa may — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 09:12:02 -0800

I well and truly need a bone conduction fan. If only because when someone asks me, I can say, "This? It's just my bone coduction fan. Now stop mumbling, whippersnapper!". On the other hand, the combs and barrettes...those are truly the modern gal's solution to understanding today's badly spoken youth. I must have one! So thank you, dearest madame, for the as-always glorious post and for giving me yet more outmoded and hopelessly rare accessories to covet.

By: Peter H

Peter H — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 09:28:34 -0800

This is a wonderful post; I love all of this. Thank you.

By: maxsparber

maxsparber — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 09:47:38 -0800

What? Speak up!

By: asok

asok — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 10:04:15 -0800

The King Goa chair (or a replica) was in the window of the hearing aid shop where I got my ears tested ten years ago.

By: dazed_one

dazed_one — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 11:48:54 -0800

Stellar post.

By: blendor

blendor — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 11:57:48 -0800

Awesome.

By: scheptech

scheptech — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 11:59:29 -0800

Great post, notice in all the medical and marketing material what's being emphasised, the reason for having a hearing aid: to hear the human voice. Hearing loss is very isolating, some say even more so than loss of sight. All the material shows or talks about people in social or business settings conversing with others. There might be one in there somewhere but I didn't spot anything referring to say, the sounds of nature, or even music although Bob Hope says something about people appreciating his 'radio shows' or 'moving pictures', heh.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 12:31:36 -0800

[this is good]

By: FormlessOne

FormlessOne — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 12:48:12 -0800

I have to agree - quite fascinating reading, and an interesting glimpse at how quickly technology has progressed.

By: .kobayashi.

.kobayashi. — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 14:38:21 -0800

Fabulous. Thank you.

By: HTuttle

HTuttle — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 18:05:07 -0800

Wish it had browse mode.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 18:06:19 -0800

This makes me think that Spock might have been deaf.

By: carter

carter — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 21:48:58 -0800

Thanks, mjjj! Delicious'd!

By: soyjoy

soyjoy — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 22:24:05 -0800

Wonderful post. madamejujujive wins an uncountable number of internets. I love the fans, and the little trumpets that today could be funky earrings. But it looks like there were a lot more options for women than for men for this kind of thing. Is it because women get more ornaments and accessories or because more of them were losing their hearing? A combination of both? Or... something more sinister?

By: maryh

maryh — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 23:58:16 -0800

This is amazing stuff. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 03:23:56 -0800

Eh?

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 12:02:17 -0800

Interesting stuff, thanks for the post. There's some modern "disguises" (probably described better as fashion) for hearing aids as well.

By: etoile

etoile — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 13:10:06 -0800

Foosnark, body aids are not particularly common these days, so it probably really is an iPod. ;) StaggeringJack, you're right, it's interesting how the attitude has flipped 180° from most of these pictures. There are colored cases, colored earmolds, the clips you linked to, and the Stringy Thing (in girl and boy models) to keep the expensive electronics from falling off a kid's head.