A SCHOOLBOY who dreamt up an imaginative design to help people with hearing loss has won a worldwide contest.

Jacob Levy, nine, will get to fly out to Austria after becoming one of two winners in a global innovation competition.

A company called MED-EL asked youngsters to come up with a new idea, to help people with hearing difficulties.

The Ideas for Ears contest was open to children aged between six and 11 years old, with judges looking for originality and practicality.

Islip resident Jacob, a Year 5 pupil at Oxford’s Rye St Antony School, designed a pair of ‘hearing glasses’.

The spectacles would allow people to see the things they cannot hear, detecting sounds and turning conversations into written words in front of the wearer’s eyes.

They could also convert everyday noises into images, such as a dog barking, and vibrate with a red warning when there is a potentially dangerous situation.

Jacob will get to visit MED-EL’s research factory in Innsbruck, Austria, and meet inventors at the technology company.

Emma Coode, head of prep at Rye St Antony, said: “We are all extremely proud of Jacob’s achievement.

“To be selected from entrants from across the world is credit to his creativity and dedication – something we encourage and develop in all of our students.”