Improvements relating to the Treatment of Persons Afflicted with Deafness, and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1891
COMPLETE
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Treatment of Persons Afflicted with
Deafness, and to Apparatus therefor.
I, CORNELIUS BENNETT HARNESS, of The Medical Battery Company, Limited,
52 Oxford Street, in the County of London, Consulting Electrician, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to the treatment of persons afflicted with deafness, and to
apparatus therefor.
In many cases of deafness or difficulty of hearing, it is necessary to excite the
internal organs of the ear in order to restore the sense of hearing. This may be
effected by subjecting the drum of the patient's ear to the action of rythmical
sonorous vibrations for a longer or shorter period according to the circumstances of
the case.
My present invention comprises an improved method of accomplishing this
result, which method consists in producing such vibrations in a resonant box or
chamber and transmitting them to the ear of the patient through a tube one end of
which is connected with the said box or chamber, the other end being provided
with a nipple which is introduced into the patient's ear.
My said invention also comprises an improved apparatus for carrying the said
method into effect.
For producing the rythmical vibrations, I find it advantageous to employ a
vibrating spring, trembler or "vibrator" operated by the aid of electricity. I
enclose this trembler or "vibrator" in a resonant box or chamber, which I prefer
to provide with means for varying its effective cubic capacity so as to increase or
diminish the volume of the sound produced. I also provide a device for varying
the stroke or movement of the trembler or "vibrator." By these means, the
pitch of the sound produced, that is to say, the frequency of the vibrations, and
the volume of such sound can be very accurately regulated.
I can employ any suitable source of electricity. I find it most advantageous,
however, to use an electric battery; and I sometimes provide this battery with a
cover, and adapt it to serve as a support for the aforesaid box or chamber con-
taining the trembler or "vibrator." I provide a suitable nipple for insertion into
the patient's ear, and this nipple is connected by a flexible tube with the interior
of the aforesaid resonant chamber.
In the accompanying drawing I have shewn, in sectional side elevation, a
convenient and advantageous form of my improved apparatus.
a is an electric battery which may be of any well-known or suitable description.
A Léclanché battery is shown in the drawing, c being the carbon element and z the
zinc element. This battery is provided with a cover b upon which is supported the
resonant box or chamber d.
e is the trembler or vibrator, which may be in the form of a plate, disc or strip,
and which is attached to a spring e¹ secured to the interior of the said box or
chamber d. f is an induction-coil supported upon a bracket 9 secured to the
interior of the said box or chamber d. This induction-coil is provided with a soft
iron core f¹, and a block or armature h of soft iron is attached to the vibrator e so
that the said armature is opposite one end of the core f¹. j is a contact-piece
which bears against a piece e² of platinum attached to the vibrator e.
This
contact-piece is adjustable towards and away from the vibrator for the purpose of
regulating the amplitude of the vibrations of the latter. For adjusting the said
contact piece, I find it advantageous to employ a device-constructed as follows, that

page_text: is to say, the said contact-piece j is provided with a screw-thread and is passed
through a nut k made in the form of a worm-wheel; with this worm-wheel-nut is
geared a worm formed or fixed on a spindle which extends through one side of
the box or chamber d. By turning this spindle in one or the other direction, the
said contact-piece can be adjusted as required.
m is a convex plate or disc which is movable longitudinally in a cylindrical
part d' of the box or chamber d. This plate or disc is mounted upon the end of
a screw n, which works in a tapped hole in the adjacent end of the said box or
chamber, and which is provided with a milled head n¹ to facilitate the turning of
the said screw by hand to adjust the said plate or disc for the purpose of increasing
or diminishing the effective cubic capacity of the said box or chamber d.
pis a nipple which is made of ivory, ebonite or other suitable material and is
adapted for insertion into the patient's ear, and which is connected by a flexible
tube q with a corresponding nipple r formed on or fixed in one end of the box or
chamber d.
The
The operation of the said apparatus is as follows:-The nipple p being inserted
in the patient's ear, the electric circuit is closed by means of a switch s.
vibrator e is then operated by the induction-coilf, the circuit being alternately
interrupted and closed by the said vibrator, and the sound produced thereby is
transmitted through the tube q to the ear of the patient. If it is desired to vary
the volume of the sound produced, such variation is effected by adjusting the
plate or disc m as required. When the patient has been treated for the required
length of time, the circuit is interrupted by means of the said switch s.
I do not confine myself to the use of the vibrator and the means for operating
the same above described, as it is obvious that the rythmical vibrations can, if
desired, be produced in the resonant box or chamber by other convenient means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
First. The improved method of treating persons afflicted with deafness or
dullness of hearing, by the production of rythmical sonorous vibrations in a resonant
box or chamber and the transmission of such vibrations to the ear of the patient,
substantially as herein before described.
Second. A resonant box or chamber having enclosed therein a suitable trembler
or vibrator and means for operating the same, and adapted to be connected by a
tube with the ear of a patient, for the purpose above specified.
Third. The combination, with a resonant box or chamber containing a trembler
or vibrator and means for operating the same, of an adjustable device for varying
the effective cubic capacity of the said box or chamber, substantially as, and for
the purpose, above specified.
Fourth. The combination, with the trembler or vibrator and the induction-coil,
enclosed in the resonant box or chamber, of the contact-piece and means for
adjusting the same, substantially as, and for the purpose, above specified.
Fifth. The improved apparatus constructed substantially as described with
reference to the accompanying drawing and operating as, and for the purpose, above
specified.
1
1
1 1
C. B. HARNESS.
D. Young & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.