The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-06-01
How the Deaf and Dumb Are Made
to Hear and Speak.

VO' NJ Orris Benson. tile dral, u,tflb ahd biih
I rival OF Helen Keller. mas recently hea'd
| spoken several words. and by purely mechanical
process has also been taught to speak many words
| and even sentences intcllipentv, SO that he no
longer admits that he is mute, and his teachers
usually understand his spoken efforts readily. He
| is an expert typewriter. working the instrument
rapidly and accurately. lie uses the machine Tor
all his written work Scientific American.
In this connection IL is interesting to note that
| Alexander Graham Rcll. the rcputcd inventor of
the telephone, in his first experiments with the
Reis telephone, long before 1876. cnieavored to
construct an apparatus by means Of which deaf
mutes could be- made to perceive sounds by mo
chantal means SO rs to watn them Of approach
ing danger lie. being at the tinc articulation
| teacher In the Massachusetts, Deaf and Dumb Asy
lum. appreciated the fact that sound vibrations
| could be perceived by the totally deaf by the
| sense OF touch and in this manner, az his father
before him in Scotland taught his pupils to ar
icuatc in all its bearings and had the idea that
| \ small instrument could be carried in the nape
OF the neck by the deaf mute, which would trans
nit sound vibrations 10 the skin OF the neck,
either direct OF through the intervention OF an
electric current He never fully carried out his
first idea, probably because he became more i
| tcrested in the problem OF sound transmission
over long distances and thus perfected the telc-
phone. Since then, however, many more or less
| the deaf mutes hear. and. consequently, learn 20
| talk and now learn that an electrician who
| has for years been devotng himself to ,hs
effect OF telephone vibrations the human ear
claims to have reached the point at which 1t is
possible not only to enable deaf people TO hear
better through the telephone, but also to
| strengthen the nerves and organs Of hearing by
| the use Of that instrument. II has long been
known that many deaf people, to whom ordinary
fiD,i 1, diet; fla,
what is said to them he telephone. The
electrician in question has turned this fact to
good account. Taking. for instance a number ot
deaf muteS as u testing class, he seats them at
| table and puts over their heads a clamp NJ
light aluminium connecting two receivers. which
| are adjusted over the ears At the opposite side
OF the table lie seats himself, in front Of device
| resembling the ordinary tlansnlitter, into which
| one speaks in using the telephone. Close at his
hand is little switch which varies the intensity
OF the electrical vibrations according to the vary
ing conditions OF the aurcular perception of the
| respective members OF the class. First turning
| on u modernate current he notes how many can
hear his voice as lie speaks into the transmitter.
He then takes stronger vibration speaks again
and notes the results In This way he learns the
| strength OF each car, and the degree of sound
best adapted TO bring the of any particular
| ear into responsive vibration. part Of the crra,
| tive treatment is TO subject the for a certain
| length OF time daily to such vibrations The r\-
ploiter of this system maintains that there is not
one ease Of deafness in 1900 where all the yari-
| ous organs Of the outer AMI inner ear ar" SO
| completely destroyed TO preclude the posi-
| bility OF conveying sound perception TO the nerve
| contcrs Of the brain, provided only the sound
| waves can be conveyed with sufficient dircc,ness
and intensity. lie claims 10 lave achieved this
result even in cases where the ears drums are
| not only rupturcd. but have been completely re-.
| moved In such cases the sound waves must act.
| Of course. directly upon the delicate internal
| mechanism OF the inner ear. One thing. however.
| appears evident, namely. that by means Of this
| system an instructor, using series OF connect cd
| receivers. can maintain communication with an
! entire crowd Of deaf mitcs teaching them simul-
| taneollsly.