The nine-year-old has high frequency hearing impairment in both ears - a disability that until recently meant he struggled to keep up with his school work. But then a little black box changed his young life. Josh's teacher wears a special microphone that transmits her voice to a receiver on his desk. Her voice is amplified through speakers connected to Josh's hearing aids so that he is able to hear his lessons no matter where his teacher is in the class. Josh is able to adjust the receiver to block out background noise, which means he actually hears his teacher's voice more clearly than his classmates. "But he can't block me out, thankfully," laughed his teacher Charmain Woodbury, who said the technology has enabled Josh to participate in the mainstream schooling that might otherwise have been impossible. "He is now able to hear clearly, and his comprehension is much better," she said. And the results have been marked. Josh says his school work has improved since he began using the receiver, which Mum Bronwyn says he thinks is "pretty cool". Ms Woodbury said Josh used to struggle to keep up but with the advent of this technology his school work is more consistent and he understands and follows instructions much more easily. "Now, he's not missing out at all. "Acutally, he sometimes gets more than we bargained for when I forget to turn off the transmitter," she said, sharing a wink with Josh that said "But that's our secret." o JEN COWLEY