This is always tough at the beginning. I'd say just try to focus on finding the bottom note, and try counting up from there and see where the notes harmonize on the scale. Sometimes it's hard to notice where the bottom is so seek out the root and sing the scale up until you hear the harmonizing note is an octave lower.

Also if it helps you keep them straight, think of the inversion as letting you know where the root is. First from the top? 1st inversion. Second from the top, 2nd inversion, so on. Because we start with root position in our lessons and practice, it's easy to try and organize them from the bottom. Surprisingly counterintuitive.

This is one of my hardest games, too. I try to focus on hearing the fourth for the inversions with major/minor chords. That helped me, but, honestly, soon went to diminished chords than sus, and I'm kind of stuck again.

Another members encouraged me to be at the piano. Haven't tried that yet. Good luck - hang in there with it.

It's actually the same game as hearing intervals, but with three notes. Then you have to know by heart how the chords are built and how to name them.

For instance a major chord in root position is a m3 interval on top of a M3, and in first inversion it is a M3 on top of a P4. So if you know that, and you hear a M3 on top of a P4... then it's a major chord in first inversion!

Learn first the major and the minor, then dim and 5b, then all the sus, and then the 4-note chords. It's a little work, but also not that much. Challenge yourself, learn it fast, in two days, instead of pushing it back to the future, and you'll be done with knowing the theory.

The thing is, when transcribing chords in real songs, you'll more likely be hearing pitches functionally relative to the tonic. This is how you hear inversions. For example, if the I chord was played in the first inversion, you'll hear mi in the root. If you hear the IV chord in the first inversion, you'll hear la instead. That also helps to keep track of where voice leading goes. I'm not sure how useful it is to do this exercise in isolation.

@Dima G would you suggest to a person who struggle with the exercise ignore it, how would one go about learning inversions other way?
I'm asking this because I'm struggling with the exercise and turned it off from daily workouts

@Question Toothbrush I just wouldn't practice it. What I would practice is when hearing a chord, trying to sing all the chord tones that go into it and identifying the root. Then you can figure out which voice is on top and which one is on the bottom. But it's way easier to do in a context of a song. In a context of a song you wouldn't just identify the inversions based on each chord. Like I mentioned previously, you'll hear the bass go to the third degree of the scale, but the chord sounds like a I chord, and not like a iii chord, so it means it's a I in the first inversion. It matters a lot what chord it is functionally within a progression.

I think chord crush goes into chord inversions within progressions, but only after all the diatonic chords are covered and even some of the secondary dominants. So I'd say, don't be too worried about inversions till you can reliably identify chords within simple pop songs. After that study the most common inversions and why they are used (to facilitate voice leading in the bass most likely). For example — I V6 vi progression, the V6 is the first inversion of a V chord, so the bass will move smoother like do-ti-la instead of do-sol-la. Way more context and more practical this way.

It's difficult for me too. I'm making steady progress by listening to the chord and singing the tonic. Then listening to the chord and singing the highest pitch. Then singing the highest pitch followed by the tonic, or sometimes it feels more natural to sing all the chord tones and figure out the relationship of the highest pitch to the tonic. I also find it easier to hear the the Rhodes piano instrument. Keep working at it, it gets easier.