Genuine Short Ear Trumpet or Something Else?

Here are some clues that indicate this short ear trumpet is really something else.

1. Notice the shape of this supposed ear trumpet. The whole unit is built in a straight line so if you held it up to your ear you'd only hear the person on that side of you. Genuine ear trumpets were designed with a curve to the earpiece so you could hear the person in front of you.
   
   
   
   
   
    
2. The earpiece is a large flat circle. it is made to fit flat on the outer ear--not go into the ear canal as is typical with genuine hearing aid ear trumpets. This end is covered with a thin layer of ear wax from all the use it has seen over the years. The outside diameter is 2½".
    

Conclusion: This is not a genuine ear trumpet at all, but is actually a genuine old (~1885) DePaul Obstetrical Stethoscope. The doctor put his ear against the earpiece and placed the bell of the stethoscope on the abdomen of a pregnant woman to hear her baby's heartbeat.

The purchaser got taken if he thought he was getting a real hearing aid—but he did get a nice old genuine stethoscope.