She was a young girl who had lost her hearing and the ability to speak because of a childhood illness. Her name was Mabel Hubbard, and four years later they got married. Although many people thought that the plan to invent a human voice transmitter was a waste of time, Alexander refused to give up his dream. He continued his experiments with sound vibrations. He even copied the design of the human ear using iron rods and electrical wires to produce the same effect.