Hearing History: Conversation Tube
Posted on July 1, 2013 by bob in April 2010
Made in the latter half of the 19th Century, Conversation Tubes were manufactured and marketed into the 20th Century. Sears Roebuck catalogues through 1908 list Conversation Tubes for sale from $1.30 to $1.89, $33-$48 in today’s money.
The flexible metal tube is an improvement over the all-cloth model, offering greater protection from damage to the rubber tube inside, with little chance for air leakage which would result in reduced effectiveness. The bell is of metal, 3” in diameter, with a 30” tube and Bakelite earpiece.
(Vintage hearing instrument courtesy of Rick Love, M.D., All Ears Hearing Centers.)
