Acousticon golden jubilee A-180 User manual

A MESSAGE FROM
THE CHAI~N
OF THE BOARD
Dear Acousticon User:
Your Golden Anniversary Acousticon is the
crowning achievement of our half century
of service to the hard of hearing.
Our objective has been to make your
Golden Anniversary Model the world's finest
hearing instrument. We have spared no
expense, no cost to achieve this result. 'We
have used to the fullest our 50 years' experience
in the design and manufacture of hearing
instruments.
But beyond that, the fact that you are an
Acousticon user means that you also have
a hearing aid which has been scientifically
selected to
match your individual hearing loss.
The instructions on the following pages-
which I urge you to read carefully-are
simple and easy to understand. They are
designed to give you the clearest possible
understanding of your hearing aid and to help
you get the maximum benefit and enjoyment
from its use.
Finally I want you to get the fullest possible
measure of help, guidance and assistance
that Acousticon can furnish you. You will
always receive a
warm and cordial welcome
when you visit your local Acousticon office.
They will be happy to give you any special
assistance
or guidance you may need as well
as
supply you with fresh batteries and see to
it that, at all times, your Acousticon is
maintained in perfect condition.
Sincerely yours,
~a~ ___
Chairman of the Board
Dictograph Products Inc.

••
YOUR COUSTICON CONSISTS OF
FO .... OWlNG MAIN PARTS :
Il: f.C E IV ER CORD
COMBINATION
CORD P LU G A ND
NOISESUP PRE SSOR
RECEP T ACl ES
FOR TIECLASP
OR 8ROOCH
MICROPHONE
RECEIVER
FIG. 1
MODEL A-lao
TR A NS w ll T TER
• REC EIV ER ( AI R, BO NE, OR CONTACT
RECEIV ER)
• R ECEIVER C ORD
EAR MO LD, IF Y OU USE A IR CO ' DUC Tl Ol'\
H
EA DBAi 'W , IF YOU USE B ONE CON D UCTIO"
SUP PLY OF AD HE SIVE DISCS FOR T HE
CONTAC T RE CEI VER
"
A" a nd " B" BA TTERIE S
.•• 2- • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ••
Brie fl y, this is what the various pa rt s do
when you hear word s, mu sic a nd o th er
so und s amplified a nd c orre cted to yo ur
particul ar re quir eme nt s.
- 'If r·un.mJIt r a device as se nsitive
to
so und as a no rmal hum an ea r- changes
th e so und vibra ti ons in to m ag nified elec-
tr ical vibr ation s. Th ese electri ca l c urr en ts
are g
uid ed to the Receiver thr ough th e
Receiver
Co rd .
~. ;'-" Rtc'Jv '. the electri ca l vi br ations
are reconv erte d int o so und vibr ations in
such a ma nn er th at lo udn ess' a nd aco us ti c
co
rr ec ti on are proper for yo ur partic ul ar
hea
rin g l oss.
T he power needed to accomplish th is
is supplied bv the Ba tt eri es .
Yo u m ust learn how to ha ndl e eac h of
these co mp one nt s and yo u will rea lize
from the fo
ll ow in g that every effort has
been made to
mak e it a sim pl e task to
opera te yo ur Acous ti con in an efficie nt
man ner.
I ..,
-.·i I J' IJ · /1
::J _ A. l ~Yl .. ~ • • • • •• •• • • "• • • _• • • • • 3• •

THE TRANSMITTER
Your Acousticon tran smitter contains a
sensitive crystal
mi crophone lo ca ted be-
hind the small
opening at th e top of the
transmitter. (see fig . 1)
The "A" and "B" batteries, thr ee mini-
ature but powerful vacuum tubes (in add.i-
tion to a
multitude of other electronic
parts)
are also contained within the trans-
mitter.
THE VOLUME CONTROL
A combination volume contro l and ON-
OFF switch is located at the upp er left
corner of the transmitter (See
fig. 1) . When
the easi ly turned volume control wheel is
in the extreme left position, a switch auto-
matically disco nnect s the batteries. Turning
the wheel toward the right, automa tically
moves the switch to the
"ON" position.
As you turn the wheel more and more to
the right the sounds become increasingly
louder.
For normal acoustic conditions with
fresh batteries you need a cer
tain volume
control
se tting depending upon your hear-
ing los s. As the batteries become weaker,
you
mer e ly advance the volume control to
compensate for reduced
battery voltage.
. 4··.·.·.·.·············
During a normal day's use you will als.o
learn to adjus t the volume control for van-
ous acoustic cond ition s. Always use the
minimum amplific ation consistent with
yo ur needs, as this will give you maximum
"B" battery life.
Wh en your Acousticon is not in u se,
tum the volume control wheel to the ex-
treme l
eft position. Make sure it is turned
as far as it will go, otherwise th e switch
will not disconn
ect the batterie s.
THE NOISE SUPPRESSOR
The plastic plug at the end of the receiver
cord al
so act s as a convenient knob for the
noise suppressor.
This knob can be adjuste d to either one
of two positions,
that is, when the "wing"
on the knob points toward the white dot
near the volume control, the noise s up-
pressor is on. For normal operation, twist
the knob so
that the "wing" points away
from the white dot.
Th e noi se suppressor should be u se d in
noi
sy s urroundings such as restaurant s, on
noi sy street s, in the vicinity of noisy ma-
c hin ery, etc.
You will find
that in noisy s urroundings,
people uncon sciously raise their voices in
an effort to be heard above the noise.
The se loud sounds may at tim es ove rtax
l ...r
J J ,' . j}
l7. "k)l'L ~ . . It . .. . • • .. . • • • • • • • • • • • • 5 .
..
..

the vac uum tubes inside your transmitt cr
and ca use the noise a nd speech to blend,
making it diffic ult to under s tand the
speech.
By turning the noise suppressor knob to
the left
,- -noi se and speech are brough t to
your e ar in normal proportions.
AIR CONDUCTION
If you have been fitted with an Air
Receiver, you were also suppli ed with a
plastic
Ear Mold shaped to fit your car.
(See
fig . 2 ).
Th e Ear Mold is fastened to the Receiver
with a s nap action so that a tight seal is
formed
around the Receiver opening. It is
essential that the Ear Mold canal be kept
frce from wax at all tim es .
It
ca n be cleaned by wa s hing in lukewa rm
wat cr and soap and by pulling a pip e
• 6 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • W1J..,SkltH ,A
cle aner through the canal. Do not use
alcohol.
Th e Ear Mold must be separated
from the R eceive r before cle aning.
BONE CONDUCTION
Bone c onduction is the transmiss ion of
so und through the bones of the h ea d di-
rectly to the
inn er ear.
If you hav e been fitted with a
B~ne ~e ce iver, you were sup-
pIled
wah a flexible H ea dband
to hold the Receiv er against the
ma stoid bone dir ectly behind
th e ea r.
For maximum efficiency, the
Bone
Re ceiver must be held
firmly
against the h ea d. This
can be don e with co mfort if you
be
nd the Headband to co nform Fi9. 3
with the shape of your head.
You will also observe that by pla c ing the
Bone .Receiver on different s pot s on the
mastOJd bone, the result will vary. A little
ex
perim e nting will soon enable you to lo-
cate the b es t spot and dete rmine the b es t
Headband s hape for your particular case.
On e e nd of the Cord used with the Bone
Rece iver has two s mall pins which fit into
holes in the Receiver, as shown in figure 3.
~JdmJ~ .............•

• • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • •
THE CONTACT RECEIVER
IF YOU HAVE BEEN FrT TED WITH A CO NT ACT RE·
CEIVER YOU 'EE D N ErTH EI( E ARMOLD N OR HEADBAND
This type of receiver is fastened to the but the a ddition of a few drops of
skin be
hind the ear -by m ea ns of an ad- rubbing alcohol will do a better job-
h
es ive disc, a new disc being u se d daily. 6. F as ten the receiver by pre ss ing it very
To ins ur e good adhe sion of the di sc 1 firmly against the skin for a few sec-
with the receiver as well
as the skin, th e onds. M ake sure the skin underne ath
following
proc e dure should be ob se rved : I the receiver is free from s tr ands of
1. Cle an the button s urf ace of th e re- f hair.
ce
iv er with a dry cloth. Wh en th e receiver is once pla ce d in
2. Remov e the two pa per di scs from one po sition, do not remov e unn ecessarily be-
side of the
adh es iv e di sc. ca use th e a dh es ion is reduced each time
3. Pr ess th e ex po se d a dh es iv e s urf ace the receiver is rem oved.
against
th e receiver butt on.
4. Remove the remainin g pa per di scs
from the out side adh es ive s urf ace, a nd
m oi sten a dhe sive s urf ace with ca rbon
tetr achloride. (Carbon "Tet" can be
obtained from any drug s tor e.)
5. Cl ea n the skin at the po int w her e the
receiver is to be
att ached. Cl ea ning J
with a
dr y handker chief is sufficie nt ,
RECE CORDS
Th e c ord c onn ecting the receiver to the spi
ra tion, it is well to h ave at least two
trans
mitt er is ca ll ed the rece iv er c ord . cords to u
se on alt ernate da ys.
(See
fi g. 1. )
To cl ean the cord, wipe it with a damp
Dur ing the s ummer month s when the cloth. Do not pin through the c ord and
c
ord is apt to become m oi st du e to per- avoid kinks.
• • 8 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • A( Ubtu:at1 1 •• 9. t

HOW TO
CHANGE BA'M'ERIES
Th e si mple steps to learn in order to
chan
ge ba tt eries are eas il y
understood
from the
fo ll owing se ri es of pictures. t
IMPORTANT
Note th e + marks and arrows on both J
" A" and "B" batteries and the corresponding
designations in the battery compartments.
If the "B" battery is inserted with the
arrow pointing in the wrong direction. your
Acousticon will giv e no sound at all.
If the "A " ba tt ery is in se rted up side down ,
some sound will be
heard but it will be
weak a
nd d is to rt ed.
To open ba tt ery
compa rtm en t, press
rel
ease button a
s
hown in fig. 4.
.........A w-u -he" it
- 10- • • • • • • • • • • • •
Fi C) . 5 .howl the opened l,.tt.,V compart.
ment w ith the wHe,;., in th . i, prop.r pOli-
tion.
To t.mo .... "A" hattery, hold the hel1lmitt . r
8' _hown in tic) . 6, c~Hujn9 the "A" battery
to drop OLlt.
Not~ the merki nC)1 in th. battery compartment end the co,r •• pondi"Cj liC)"1
on the baHeriel o •• hown in fiC)l. 8e end 8b.
If th e batt eri ., .re incorroc tfy pi eced your Ac oulticon will not work pr op erly.
,Glk~JuM
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • - 11- I

WEAR YOUR ACOUSTICON
WITH A REMOTE
MICROPHONE
For special occasions, or for everyday
use,
yo u may find the tie-clasp or brooch
microphone
an id ea l addition to yo ur
Acousticon.
Fig. 9 sho
ws how easi ly the remote
microphone is co
nn ected to th e tr ansmi tt er
which then ca n be carried in a pocket or
a ny other convenient pla ce where the vol-
ume control
can be easily reached while
the microp
hon e is in th e open.
The microphone inside the
transmitter
is a ut oma tical ly disco nn ected when the
remote cord is
plug ged into the top of the
tr ansm itter as shown in fig. 9.
T IECLAS P MICROPHONE
FIe;, 9
! ~ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
ADVICE TO NEW USERS
In th e years over whi ch your bear-
ing loss has been increa sing, you hav e
been gra dually losing th e abi lity to
recognize
and distinguish speech of
nor ma l intensity.
You must not ex pe ct, even with
the aid of your Acousticon, to n:-
acq uire this faculty at once. The ears
must first l ea rn throu gh practice to
separate th e d es ired so und s from the
undesired and to interpr et correc tly
th e sounds you wi sh to h ear.
You must learn again to dis re ga rd
ex
tran eo us sou nd s and concentrate on
what you wish to h ear, just as a per-
son with normal h ea rin g do es.
A
new emp loyee in a no isy machine
s hop , for examp le, finds it difficult to
understand any thing that is being said
around him. But he is amaze d to
observe
the other work ers talkin g
amo ng themselv es apparently as natu-
ra lly as they would in th e quiet of
their own homes.
After a period of tim e, how ever,
he too
can easily hear an d understand
his co- work ers. He has become so
accus tom ed to th e noise th at he has
l
earned automatically to e liminat e it
f
rom his c on sciousness, just as you
now h ave to learn to automatically
disr ega rd ex traneous noises an d sounds.
G~k ~ v JlJJev .........".....'..•• -
13 '

POSSIBLE MINOR TROUBLES
AND THEIR REMEDIES
''' 'hen your Acousticon gives no so und
1. Look first to see whether the instru-
ment has been turned on.
2. Then, if you are w ear ing an Air
Conduction Receiver, see if the Ear
Mold Canal has become choked with
wa x. If so, remove the pla stic Ear Mold
from the Receiver
an d clean.
3. The fa ult may lie in eith er the "A"
or "E" battery. If doubtful change your
b
at teries.
4.
In spe ct all the Cord plugs to see that
the connec ti ons are a ll ti g ht and prop"
erly inserted.
CERTIFICATE or REGISTRATION
Th e g uarante e shown at rig ht becomes effective
only if
Certificate of Registration has b ee n prop-
erly filled in and mail ed to Di cto grap h Product s
In c., Jamai ca, N. Y., at the lime 0/ purchase,
a nd acknowledgment of such Certification of
Reg ist rat ion has been received by you in wr i tin g
from Dic
tograph Produ cts Inc., J ama ica, N. Y.
If you do not receive such wr itte n acknowl-
edgment within 15 da ys of purchase of your
instrument, please write at once to Dicto gra ph
Products Inc ., 95-25 149th Street, Jamaica 1,
N. Y., giving
date of purchase, model a nd serial
numb er of your A co usticon and th e name and
address of your Retailer.
' 14 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • AW'U.s1i(~I1 '
5. If ther e is a click ing sound when
moving th e Cord, this shows th at there
is a loose co nnection , or a br eak ha s
occurred in the Cord it self. To test the
Cords connec t the ins trum en t a nd wear
as u s ~al , and gently roll th e Cord be-
tw een the fingers. If a clicking results,
it will indi
ca te that a breakage has
o ccur red an d the Cord should then be
r ep laced with one of th e s pare Cords
you s
hould hav e on hand .
If the trouble is not corrected by any
of the above suggestion s, vi s it YOUR
ACOUSTICON RETAILER , or mail
your ins
trum e nt to him.
\G~nJul~ ·.................... · 15 -
I

IMPORT NT
REMINDERS
To prolong the life of your batteries
always use a minimum volume control
setting consistent with your need s.
2
Do not place your transmitt er on a
hot radiator or l eave it in s tron g
summer h ea t in a confined space such
as in
th e glove com partment of a
parked automobile. Do not allow it
to I ie in the sun. 3
Do not ex po se it to moisture. Durin g
hot, humid weather, wipe th e per-
spiration from th e transmitt er and
cords. 4
Extreme humidit y ha s an adverse
effect on the proper oper~tion of all
typ
es of electronic eqUlpm en t. In
humid climates it is well ther efore to
use
the Acousticon Humidri er re gu-
larl y. The tr a nsmitter should be
placed in the Humidrier overnight in
ord er to remove moisture collected
du ring th e da y and to prevent mois-
tur e from r eac hin g th e transmitt er
during the ni ght.
Ask your Acousticon Retail er for
comp lete informat ion on the use of
th e H umidrier.
for m No. 1067
Printed in U.S.A.
# 66098
SPECIAL
INSTRUCTIONS
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