It is the official name for a hearing aid or ear trumpet used in the early 17th Century.
Hearing aids have come a long way since then, some are customisable colours and others are virtually invisible, some are even drilled into the side of your head known as a BAHA (or a bone anchored hearing aid).
Other hearing devices and most commonly used as headsets to play music are Bone conduction headphones (which are sometimes called ‘bonephones’). These are headphones that transmit sound waves through the bones in the skull instead of the ear canal.
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When we think about this instrument, Rose Hill comes to mind, who played Madam Fanny in the famous comedy Allo Allo. You can visit Google and Wikipedia for more information about Rose Hill.
