# Ewald Hering's (1879) “On Muscle Sounds of the Eye”: A translation and commentary

## TL;DR

This paper translates and discusses Ewald Hering's 1879 work on using muscle sounds to study eye movements, a method that transformed the field.

## Contribution

The paper provides a previously unavailable English translation of Hering's original work on muscle sounds in eye movement research.

## Key findings

- Hering used a stethoscope-like device to detect brief 'clapping' sounds from eye muscle movements.
- He applied the technique to study rapid eye movements during reading, calling them 'Rucke'.
- The original article was overlooked, and this translation brings it to modern audiences.

## Abstract

Investigations of eye movements were transformed by Ewald Hering in 1879. He developed a novel method for recording them using the muscular sounds attendant on their rapid movements. Brief “clapping” sounds could be heard with the aid of a device like a stethoscope placed on the eyelid and they occurred when afterimages or “floaters” were seen to move. Hering applied the technique to record eye movements during reading and he called the rapid eye movements Rucke (jerks in English). Hering published a long review of eye movements and spatial vision later in 1879, but without a description of the muscle sounds. Hering's insightful article has been overlooked and a translation of it into English is presented.