A STRANGE IMPERFECTION OF HEARING

Lyttelton Times, Volume LVII, Issue 6509, 6 January 1882, Page 6

A STRANGE IMPERFECTION OF HEARING

Mr Idwin Cdwles, of th« Cleveland (Ohio) I Leader, give* the following account of mi | infirmity which curiously iimiU the range of bitsenseof bearing : "My deafnessieeeme* wh»t of the nature of colour blindness. Ibere are certain sounds I never hear. I have never heard the sound of the bird since I came into thie world, and until I crew «p to manhood I bad always supposed the music of tbe bird wae poetical fiction. You may All thie room with canary birds, and they may all ting at once, and I nerer would hear a note, but I would hear the fluttering of their wingg. I never hear 1 the hissing eoand in tbe human voice, consequently, not knowing of the existence of that sound, I grew up to manhood without ever making it in my speech. A portion of the consonants X never bear, yet I can hear all the vowele. I never could distinguish the difference between the hard sound of tbe letter 's' and tbe soft sound, consequently I frequently mix these sounds in a ts& manner. It is tbe same with the soft and hard sound of the 1 titer 'g.' It was only by accident, after my marriage, that I discovered tbe existence of tbe hissing sound in the human voice. I wae then taught arbitrarily how to make it, but I never hear it in my own voice, consequently I frequently miss making that sound in my speech without knowing it. Owing to its having become second nature in me to omit the sound of the letter '*,' when 1 do make it I labour in doing so, which in a great measure gives my pronunciation the peculiarity it has. There are words which I pronounce literally according to the spelling, wbioh gives an additional peculiarity to my speech. For instance, I used to pronounce the word 'parochial* just as it was spelled until I was corrected, when I now pronounce |it 'parokial.' I cannot hear the difference between the sounds ' ch' and 'k' when em- ! bodied in a word. All these examples will I give an idea how it is that my peculiar deafi ness affects my speech. Before I was taught I to make the hissing sound my pronunciation | sounded the same to everybody as theirs did [to me. About a quarter cf the sounds in the (human voice I never bear, and I have to watch the motion of the lips and be governed I by the sense of the remarks in order to under- | stand what is said to me. I have walked by the side of a policeman, going home at night, i and seen him blow his whistle, and I never J could hear it, although it could be heard by | others half & mile away. I never hear the ! upper notes of a piano, violin, and other I musical instruments, although I would hear all the lower notes. I can hear low conversation, but cannot as a general rule understand i a public speaker in a hall. Now you will understand how it is that my impediment of speech is owing entirely to my extraordinary | hearing. I have consulted tbe most eminent surgeons, physicians, and aurists in the country in regard to my hearing, and they all tell me there is not another case like it in the ! books."