Thomas+Edison

Recording and Playing Audio People in Communication

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison is the quintessential American inventor. Before he died, he gave us the phonograph, the telephone speaker transmitter, the incandescent light bulb, and key elements of motion-picture apparatus, as well as other bright inventions. He also created the world's first industrial research laboratory. One more important thing, he was hard of hearing, maybe deaf. He described himself as being deaf. There are many stories about how he became deaf, however it happened, he became so at an early age. One source said his father and his son were also hearing impaired, however I found no other mention of it, but it may have run in his family. Edison was the last of seven children, and did not learn to talk until he was four years old. If he was born hard of hearing or not is unknown, but Edison did develop hearing problems at an early age. He once wrote, "I have not heard a bird sing since I was twelve years old." When Edison was 14, he contracted scarlet fever and his deafness has been attributed to it. Recurring untreated middle-ear infections may have also been a reason. Another story, told by Edison himself, says that he was picked up by the ears to keep from falling out of a train. He said that he heard something "pop" inside his ears. A different version of the story said he was struck on the ears by a train conductor when his chemical laboratory in a boxcar accidentally caught fire and he was thrown off the along with his apparatus and chemicals. Whatever the cause, Edison was completely deaf in his left ear, and 80-percent deaf in the other.

When Edison was fifteen, he saved a 3 year old little boy from being hit by a train. The little boy's father, the station master, taught Edison telegraphy as a reward. This was the most advanced technology of the time. As Edison’s hearing got worse he used telegraphy codes to communicate. He would tap out the codes on the person’s body. When he went to the theater, his wife tapped Morse Code on his leg so he knew what the actors were saying.

It has been wondered, since he was deaf, why did he not work on inventing a hearing aid. He often told reporters that he was working on one; sometimes he tested hearing aids designed by others. But it seems that Edison saw advantages to being deaf. For example, he said that it helped him concentrate on his work. In 1927 he told a group of 300 hard-of-hearing adults, "Deaf people [like himself] should take to reading. It beats the babble of ordinary conversation."

Edison thought his deafness helped him be a better scientist. All communication had to be written so there were no misunderstandings. He enjoyed not having to listen to other people talk. He enjoyed not hearing the noises of his environment. He enjoyed being alone. This allowed him to think clearly without distractions. As an adult he could have easily had surgery which claimed to restore his hearing. He refused the surgery. He believed he would be too distracted by all the noise.