This is the heartwarming moment a one-year-old baby born deaf heard her mum's voice for the very first time after getting a cochlear implant - and burst into tears.
The footage shows Annabelle Lawless - who was born with profound hearing loss - crying after noticing sounds she's never heard before.
Anabelle can be seen happily listening to her toys make noise as she picks up various objects.
But the new experience quickly overwhelms her and she starts to blubber.
Mum Sarah Jo, from Idaho, told ABC 6: 'It's a huge milestone.
"It's kind of a bigger deal than a birthday or anything. This is what we have been working towards.
'I was shaking. It was kind of surreal.
"I am talking to my daughter and I talk to her everyday but I am talking to her and she has got a hearing device on her head."
The couple first realised their newborn wasn't hearing correctly when she was one-month-old.
Annabelle was born 'very, very tiny' in April 2016 and had to stay in the NICU.
While she was being treated, she didn't pass the hospital's hearing test.
Doctors weren't concerned and chalked it up to the infant still having fluid in her ears, which is common.
However, the parents were concerned a few weeks later when nothing was startling Annabelle, not even the dog barking or the washing machine door being slammed loudly.
She was brought to the Idaho Elks Hearing and Balance Center where doctors informed the Lawless family the baby had profound hearing loss.
The first step of the treatment plan called for hearing aids, which would allow Annabelle to be able to notice sounds.
The second part of the plan was to give her a cochlear implant when she was ready.
One sits behind the ear, while a second is surgically placed underneath the skin.
The devices can't restore normal hearing, but they can help a deaf person understand speech better.
More than 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents and the established treatment plan for children with severe to profound hearing loss are cochlear implants.
No comments:
Post a Comment