St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-01-03

Quoting surfaces by means of which the cur
rent is rapidly and regularly closed and OPP
ened. A musical sound is produced which
the telephone receiver communicates TO the
ear. Holding the receiver to the ear, the
operator removes the sliding coil from the
stationary one, and as the distance between
the coils increases the sound grows fainter
and fainter and finally is lost altogether the
| scale on the side rod marks the point which
the sliding coil had reached when the sound
ceased to be heard. II standard of normal
hearing capacity can once be obtained it will
he an easy matter to measure the exact ca
pacity of every ear which is tested. Every
| element by the use of this instrument is cal
cuable."
''Have you attained sufficiently accurate
standard of hearingf'
mot yet, but hope to do so soon. This
week have been making a number OF tests
in the public schools of New York. ! have
standard of abnormal but not of normal
| hearing. find that this instrument will be
OF great use in the public schools, 1t is cs-
timated that 10 per cent. of the school child
rem of New York City have slight defects of
hearing, and that per cent. Of this number
are so deaf that they derive no benefit from
the usual methods of instruction. The
scholars know of course when their hearing
is bad, but the teachers, as rule, do not,
and often think child dull when it is only
deaf.
If the teachers were aware of the in6rmity
and understood it, the pupil whose hearing
was defective could always be given place
in the room and classes which would enable
him to profit by the instruction which he is
now, in many cases losing. / find a great
m IA bea M NJ
Some persons can b, a equally well with both
ears, but most persons have greater hear
ing capacity in one ear than in she other.
The hearing capacity ranges from zero to an
abnormal degree of acuteness. By testing
the ears of several hundred persons l will be
able TO reach an average capacity of hearing
which | can safely take for standard"
"How was your attention directed to this
subiectP'
''At a convention of the teachers of deaf
mutes held in New York. was made chair
man of u committee which was appointed
for the purpose of devising means for testing
and measuring the hearing capacity of mutes
1t has been discovered that very large NUN.
Der OF persons who are cIassed as deaf-mutes
have, in reality, considerable hearing capac-
ity. | have been able to discover this latent
capacith by means of this instrument. and
Wnen II Is found that patient can be made
to hear il is not a matter of great difficulty to
develop the hidden power, and to teach the
patient 10 hsar AID speak, though, as a mat
ter OF fact, hearingis not necessary to speech.
| mean by that that dsaf. mutes can be taught
to talk, that in several countries of Europe
they are treated so successfully that more than
IS per cent Of them learn to use their vocal
organs. In the United States this matter has
been neglected, and only IA per cent of the
deaf-mutes are taught to speak. 1t is my
hope that this instrument will be be power
full factor in the restoration of speech and
hearing to multitude of persons, and / am
extremely anxious that it may become of use
to school-chldren and 10 teachers. There
are probably 400 children in the public of
this city who on account of defective hearing
should be given special advantages. l trust
my invention will be instrumental in discov
ering them.n