It’s been fascinating learning about hearing. However, what we really want to do is get a closer look at the technology!

We’ve all seen people wearing hearing aids but do you know how they work?

Their job is to collect the sounds all around, make them louder and clearer, and then deliver the sounds into the ear.

Some hearing aids are called BTE and others are called ITE. Any idea what they stand for?

BTE stands for Behind-the-Ear – and ITE for In-the-Ear!

Younger children quite often have Behind-The-Ear versions – which come in a great range of cool colours! Older children might have the In-The-Ear versions which are much smaller and fit snugly in the ear.

If someone has a more severe hearing problem, they might use a device called a cochlear implant.

This is a very tiny piece of electronic equipment that’s put into the cochlea during an operation… It helps the damaged or destroyed hairs by turning sounds into electrical messages that stimulate the hearing parts of your brain directly.

In order for someone to hear with a cochlear implant, they have to wear a speech processor, which looks a bit like a hearing aid!

Cochlear implants can also be used with things like Roger systems.

If you have hearing loss, it can be particularly hard to work out who’s talking in a crowd or to understand what’s being said when the speaker is a long way from you. Like a teacher at the front of a class.

Roger systems have two parts. One part is a little wireless microphone which is worn by the person speaking and the other part is a tiny receiver that clicks onto the listener’s hearing aids.

When someone has a Roger system, they hear the talker’s words clearly and directly in their hearing aids, making it easier to hear in noise.

That sounds like a great idea for school or if you’re playing sport – you’d be able to hear the coach shouting at you!

…Or your mum cheering you on!