How much can Love Island’s deaf contestant Tasha Ghouri hear?

LOVE Island are making history in their programme with Islander Tasha Ghouri.

For the first time ever they have a deaf contestant taking part in the ITV2 reality show.

How much can Tasha Ghouri hear?

Tasha was born deaf and got a cochlear implant when she was five-years-old.

The implant does not cure deafness, but provides a useful sensation of hearing sound.

The device allows Tasha to receive and process sounds and speech.

The implant doesn't make you hear normally again, but it can help you with sounds.

Most people with severe to profound hearing loss like Tasha can understand speech in person or over the phone better than they did with a hearing aid.

It helps her to recognise sounds around her, including telephones, doorbells, and alarms.

Many people also can pick up on speech in noisy places better than they did with hearing aids, or even enjoy music again.

It is also understood that Tasha can lip read, which will also aid her.

Chatting about her deafness before going on Love Island she said: “I call it my superpower.

“I don’t call it a disability because it’s something I don’t like — it sounds negative. With boys, because I’m so confident about it, I think they find that attractive.

“I don’t shy away from it. It’s like, if you don’t accept it that’s your loss, but I’m a fun, wild girl.”

What are cochlear implants and how do they work?

The implant is an electronic system that stimulates the nerve of hearing in the cochlear - which converts the vibrations into nerve impulses which are carried to the brain.

It can give a sensation of sound to profoundly deaf people who have been unable to hear even when using the most powerful hearing aids available.

The cochlear implant system is made up of several pieces of equipment, which work together to provide the sensation of hearing.

The microphone clips into the ear and picks up sound which is converted into an electrical signal in the speech processor.

Can Tasha get her cochlear implants wet?

The surgically implanted internal processor is placed underneath the skin, making it waterproof.

But the external processor traditionally is NOT waterproof and should be removed.

She has to take this part off before she bathes, showers, or swims.