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From: Alan Badmington
Date: 02 Oct 2005
Time: 14:03:09 -0500
Remote Name: 84.66.105.15
It was quite nostalgic for me to see the photograph of the Edinburgh Masker, particularly with the accompanying stethoscope. I took delivery of one of the first Maskers back in the 1970’s, shortly after it was featured on the scientific programme on BBC television in the UK. I travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland, two days later, where I first had the pleasure of meeting Ann Dewar. She allowed me to test one of the bench models and felt that it would be useful for my kind of stutter. I wore it for the next 20 years, 10-14 hours every day. The infernal ‘white noise’ was most irritating and caused regular headaches and ear infections. Incidentally, the stethoscope was aesthetically unacceptable, as I was a serving police officer, so I arranged for ear-moulds to be supplied locally. I informed Anne of my actions, as a result of which ear-moulds became a standard issue with later models. The Masker never eliminated my stuttering problem, but it gave me the confidence to venture into situations that I might otherwise have avoided. Expanding my comfort zones in this manner improved my interpersonal skills. Despite considerable setbacks, it also helped me to build up a system that would eventually support greater self-expression later in my life. When someone spoke when I was speaking, I could not hear them due to the buzzing sound, so I had to learn to lip read. The noise was sometimes a nightmare, but I had to wear the device in order to carry out my duties. As you are probably aware, Marty Jezer continued to wear his Edinburgh Masker throughout four decades. We often spoke about the machine – he told me that it gave him so much confidence to speak. When I eventually discarded my ‘mechanical crutch’ five years ago, I felt ‘naked’ when I spoke, because of the absence of the sound. But, I liked the sound of my own voice and haven’t stop talking since ;-) Incidentally, I kept in regular touch with Ann Dewar for more than 20 years, until her death in 1999. Thank you for presenting such an interesting and informative paper. Kindest regards Alan Badmington