New hearing aid tunes into bird song

The 995 Audeo Mini is said to be the smallest and most advanced hearing aid in the world.

About the size of a jelly bean, it is packed with sophisticated circuitry designed to adapt to changing "soundscapes".

The device can selectively focus on specific speech sources to reduce distracting background noise.

It also enables the wearer to detect high frequency sounds such as a bird singing, or the softest whispers.

Both kinds of sound are often the first to go when hearing deteriorates.

Chief executive Valentino Chapero of Swiss hearing aid company Phonak, which makes the device, said: "The Audeo Mini is a landmark development for hearing correction and the next significant development in hearing technology.

"It is powerful enough to provide the user with crystal clear sound quality while small enough to sit almost invisible behind the ear."

About 12 million people in Britain suffer from hearing loss. One in five individuals has hearing difficulties and this figure is expected to rise to one in three by 2025 as the population ages.