What’s in Tasha Ghouri’s ear?

TASHA Ghouri joins Love Island 2022 as show's first-ever deaf contestant.

The 23-year-old from North Yorkshire hopes to be an inspiration and raise awareness about her condition.

Why does Tasha Ghouri wear cochlear implants?

Tash Ghouri has sensory loss which means that the small hairs in the cochlear (inner ear) were missing and damaged when she was born.

She wears a cochlear implant and is very open about her hearing, revealing that many call her "inspirational" because she likes to talk about her disability and raise awareness of her condition.

Before she signed up for Love Island, Tasha featured in a viral Asos campaign in 2021 that saw her showing her medical device in an earing advert.

At the time, she wrote: "MY HEART IS FULL RIGHT NOW! Thanks so much for all of your kind messages WOW. It may just be an ear but it means so much more – like what @rnid_uk said representation matters, and I’m bloody proud to represent my community.

"Biggest love to @asos for welcoming me in and breaking boundaries as this will really help and inspire people out there."

How do cochlear implants work?

Cochlear implants are designed to mimic natural hearing and replace the function of the inner ear.

They serve to help those who have a permanent, severe to profound deafness, and cannot hear the full range of speech sounds with a standard hearing aid.

The implant is made up of two parts, one side clips behind the ear or to clothing, while the other side is surgically implanted.

The sound is picked up by the microphone worn on or near the ear on the external processor.

Can you get cochlear implants wet?

As the cochlear implant is surgically implanted and placed underneath the skin, it means it is waterproof.

However, in some rare circumstances, the implant may stop working, and you'd need surgery to fix the problem.

The external processor is typically NOT waterproof and should be removed before coming into contact with water.

Some models are available for waterproof external processors which are great options that can be used in the pool, bath or shower.

You should discuss these options with your cochlear implant audiologist.