Managing the Experience of Hearing Loss in Britain, 1830–1930

Graeme Gooday is Professor of the History of Science and Technology at the University of Leeds, UK. His specialist research themes include communications, electrification, patenting and gender in the period 1850-1930. He collaborates with various museums in collections-based research, especially the Thackray Museum and its substantial collection of hearing aids.Karen Sayer is Professor of Social and Cultural History at Leeds Trinity University, UK, and addresses changing conceptualisations of the human and animal body in relation to technology. She works within the interdisciplinary team of the Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies and organised the landmark conference Disability & the Victorians: Confronting Legacies, 2012.

“Categorizing and investigating the experiences of a group defined through individual members’ emotional experience of hearing loss as a loss is a simple yet innovative approach, making this book valuable to the burgeoning field of the history of emotions.” (Coreen McGuire, Technology and Culture, Vol. 61 (4), October, 2020)“Managing the Experience of Hearing Loss in Britain, 1830-1930 offers a concise overview of a neglected dimension of the history of disability. … it highlights an inherently intriguing topic and provides a welcome impetus for further exploration of the experiences of the hard of hearing.” (Ben Ford, H-Disability, July, 2019)“The book is readable, engaging, highly informative, and a very valuable first step in bridging a significant gap in our knowledge, which deserves both further research and a wider audience.” (Mike Goldsmith, Isis, Vol. 110 (2), June, 2019)

• Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The diverse and changing categories of deafness.- Chapter 3: Advice for managing hearing loss.- Chapter 4: Communicating with hearing loss.- Chapter 5: Selling and using hearing aids.- Chapter 6: Preventing deafness: two medical approaches.- Chapter 7: Institutionally organising for hearing loss.- Chapter 8: Epilogue.