Deafness practically illustrated / [James Yearsley].

  • James Yearsley
Date:
[1849]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Deafness practically illustrated / [James Yearsley]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    173/200 page 161
    the lips of the speaker, having previously learnt the use of articulate language by the use of the eye alone. There are other persons entirely deaf, but retaining the faculty of speech, who can readily comprehend every word by watching the movements of the lips. Some time ago a lady was induced to consult me, at the solicitation of friends; for she herself had for years relinquished-all ‘hopes of relief. She was in her forty- sixth year; but at the age of six had become affected with scarlatina, which left a total and irremediable deafness;—the loudest sounds from that time were inaudible to her; nevertheless, she held a conversation with her friend and myself on indifferent subjects with- out difficulty. The articulatory movements of the lips &c. required in speech were quite sufficient without the accompanying sounds. Of course she had acquired the faculty of speech previous to the attack of scar- latina; and she had preserved this by proper care and attention up to the period when she consulted me. Having entirely lost her hearing at so early an age, this fact alone was extraordinary. She spoke distinctly, but like a foreigner. In ordinary conversation between persons of perfect hearing, the comprehension of all that is said is, to a considerable extent, dependent on the combined use of the eye and the ear, though we seem indebted for it to the ear alone. A few simple experiments will prove this to be true to a greater extent than we could at first imagine. If a person of good hearing be in a large theatre or assembly, at such a distance as to ren- der the words of the speaker indistinct, he may make out distinctly what is said by the use of an opera-glass. Or, if there should be such a noise as to interrupt the
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