Made to look like a flower vase and to be used as a table centerpiece, this tabletop hearing device collected sound through the round, filigreed openings and funneled the sound into the silk-covered rubber tube that attached to the base. It offered a way for the user to conceal hearing loss while in public.

Courtesy of Courtesy of the Becker Medical Library, Washington University School of Med

Metal table centerpiece with six round sound-collecting openings