Hearing History
Old-Fashioned Hearing Aids
A musical instrument? Some sort of animal horn?
Not quite! You might be surprised to learn that this is actually a historical hearing aid.
Known as an ‘ear trumpet,’ these devices were used to help people hear better. By holding the narrow end close to the ear, the wider end would collect and funnel sound waves, making speech and other noises clearer for those hard of hearing.
The earliest ear trumpets were made from hollowed-out animal horns, like those from cows or rams. By the 1700s, the wealthier folks could afford wood or even silver trumpets, but by the 1800s, sturdy yet affordable sheet metal became the popular choice, and these devices were manufactured for well over a century.
This particular ear trumpet belonged to Charlie (Karl) Frederick Busk (1861–1944). Karl was born in Finland but, in his twenties, he ventured across the world to Adelaide, Australia, where he met and married Ida Christina Anderson. They had seven children and eventually relocated to the coastal town of Iluka, on Yaegl Country in northern New South Wales.
Around 1900, Karl worked on the Clarence River breakwater walls—a physically demanding job. The constant clanging of tools against stone made it incredibly noisy as well. Since hearing protection wasn’t widely used until World War I in 1914, it’s no surprise that his hearing may have been impacted to the point he needed this very ear trumpet.
