Early attempts to cure deafness

A wide range of methods have been employed in an attempt to cure deafness in various time periods. In the mid-18th century, Abraham Argillander’s student Wolfgang Helsingius was treated using both electrotherapy and mineral water. There were also attempts to cure the founder of Finland’s deaf education, Carl Oscar Malm, using electrotherapy. The necessary equipment for electrotherapy was found at the Manilla school in Stockholm, where Malm studied. Doctor Saeve, who had already treated Malm earlier on, was in charge of electrotherapy at the school. The Manilla school also used water from health springs. Generally, these attempts at a cure did not work, and this was the case for both Helsingius and Malm.

According to an article in the Kuuromykkäin Lehti magazine for the deaf and mute, the founder of Denmark’s deaf education, Doctor Peter Atke Castberg, had tried to cure deaf people using electrotherapy in the early 19th century. This treatment method was also known as galvanism. In the 19th century it was a popular treatment method for a range of illnesses. Descriptions of Castberg’s experiments state that during the treatment, deaf people had jumped high off the chairs and that their muscles had convulsed in a frightening manner. The patients were at times deathly pale, with sweat streaming over them. In some cases, the treatment actually worsened the condition.

Many who attempted to cure deafness using various methods were only interested in making money, however. The Suomen Aistivialliskoulujen Lehti magazine for people with sensory impairments warned of one Doctor Nicholson’s eardrums. They contained a small piece of raw latex attached to a piece of metal wire. The drums were moistened in a liquid that came enclosed with the drum, and then placed in each ear. The product advertisements falsely promised that hearing would be restored.