Aged 32, science writer Frank Swain is losing his hearing. Audiologists are concerned there may be a rising tide of 'hidden hearing loss' among young people. As electronic prices have fallen, sound systems have become cheaper and more powerful.

At the same time, live music events and personal music players are more popular than ever, resulting in an increase in noise-related hearing damage. In this programme, Frank asks what the future holds for people like him, part of a tech-savvy generation who want to hack their hearing aids to tune in to invisible data in the world around them.

Could these designers and hackers create the next supersense?

Producer: Michelle Martin

First broadcast on Monday 6 January, 2014.

Credits:

Sound files of tinnitus kindly provided by Action on Hearing Loss. Free Helpline: 0808 808 0123

Sonified data produced by Semiconductor, with audio courtesy of CARISMA, operated by the University of Alberta, funded by the Canadian Space Agency. Special thanks to Andy Kale.

Colour music created by cyborg artist Neil Harbisson.