This is of a similar configuration to an ear trumpet used by Beethoven (see last picture from Elizabeth Bennion’s  book Antique Hearing Devices)

The relatively large dish in the shape of a flattened cone makes this an effective if unwieldy hearing aid. The dish collects sound and feeds it into a collecting tube which curves through 90 degrees and continues as a long straight tube to the ear. This tube is telescopic and collapses to a length of 324 mm which improves portability a little.

• From the Phisick collection