RNID's senior audiology specialist, Angela King explains, "scientists are using special materials to create tiny bars that vibrate in response to sound and produce small electrical signals. Each bar is tuned to a different part of the sound spectrum. If it proves possible to miniaturise the bars even further, they could form a new type of cochlear implant that wouldn't need any external parts or power supply. A lot more research needs to be done before we will know if a fully implanted device is on it's way. Although we will not know for some years the true potential of this research, it is worth exploring to the full."

Bill Nimmo, a member of the NPL team said "the challenge is to miniaturise the elements so that they still resonate at audible frequencies". He said this means a commercial implant is likely to be at least 10 years away.

For more information on cochlear implants, see the factsheet.