• The Artificial Tympanum

    Perforation of the eardrum (tympanic membrane or tympanum) is a very common injury to the ear, often resulting from ear infection, trauma (damn those Q-tips!), loud noise, or blockages in the Eustachian tubes. Most cases the damage is minor and the drum heals quickly on its own, but other cases bring about hearing loss, and… Continue Reading

  • Popular Remedies for Deafness

    The aurist William Wright (1773-1860) published a journal in 1825, The Aurist. In the third volume, 31 May 1825, he prints the first of series of articles to be devoted to discussing the merits of some popular remedies advertised and recommended by aurists and “quacks” in London. Unfortunately, the third volume was the last one, but we… Continue Reading

  • The Proprietor

    Correspondence in The Lancet, 1852: Sir–I am about to ask two questions which I believe you will not answer, and I shall even be surprised if the note which contains them is permitted to find a place in your columns. My first question is this:—“Is it true that Yearsley, the aurist, is the proprietor of the ‘London… Continue Reading

  • Searching for Charlatans

    One of the lessons I try to get across to students in my History of Medicine class at Ryerson is how to “read” images and assess their value as source–i.e what kind of implicit or explicit meanings are embodied in the images and what kinds of messages are being transmitted, as well as how clearly… Continue Reading

  • HPS Blogging V.2013

    Recently I was thinking about a conversation we had three years ago, about the value of HPS blogging, and I can’t help but wonder, have things changed? Nathaniel Comfort is asking the same thing, emphasizing that those in the HPS community who use social media “are convinced that social media can be interesting and valuable… Continue Reading

  • ARTICLE Published!

    I published a short article in the British Deaf History Society Journal (15.4), based on the presentation that I gave at the Disability & the Victorians Conference. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to John A. Hay, Peter Jackson, Jill Jones and Lisa Davies for their support and encouragement. As I discussed in the conference,… Continue Reading

  • William Wright & Miss Hannah Thatcher

    William Wright (1773-1860), whose professional career began in Bristol, England in 1796, moved to London and acquired a large practice in aural surgery that included the Duke of Wellington and other members of the nobility as patients. Eventually he became one of John Harrison Curtis’ fiercest and most outspoken rivals, rallying against the prevalence of… Continue Reading

  • Monday Series: An Inquest into a Surgical Procedure II

    Charles Spradbrow also witnessed Joseph Hall in perfectly good health on Saturday June 22, having had seen him at Turnbull’s ten or twelve times on occasion to be treated for deafness, and was “always very anxious to use the instrument.” Several other individuals—as many as thirty, according to some reports—were also at Turnbull’s that Saturday,… Continue Reading

  • Using an Ear Trumpet

    The other day I was conversing with my friend about what kind of hairstyles I planned to wear for my wedding. I remarked I would probably wear my hair down for the reception, since it will likely coordinate with my outfit. My friend told me I was silly–I should wear my hair up, in some… Continue Reading