For those of us that have full hearing, it is hard to think what it would be like to be hearing impaired. It's even harder to imagine what it would be like to be born with this impairment, never even knowing what it would be like to hear a sound at all. However, there are some babies, like Alex, who are born this way.
Alex Denman was born partially deaf. Medical staff quickly ran tests to discover what was wrong and found out that he only had partial hearing. Once they discovered his condition, they fitted Alex with a hearing aid to help him properly hear for the first time.
His mother, Jen, from Liverpool, filmed the moment that her son heard her voice clearly for the first time. They let the Alder Hey Hospital share it on their social media, and from there it went viral.
"It was only meant for family and friends," she said when she appeared on This Morning recently. "It just went crazy". Check out the video below:
"Baby Alex was born with Bilateral Moderate Sensorineural hearing loss, making him almost deaf. This is the amazing moment he is fitted with his new hearing aids and hears his mummy's voice clearly for the first time."
Jen then appeared on ITV's This Morning, where she talked about the experience. Apparently, her older son wanted to help out as soon as he found out the problem - even going to get his toy screwdriver to fix his little brother's ears.
There is some difficulty dealing with the condition, as they can't leave him alone while he wears his hearing aid at the moment. However, the family are coping well - in fact, all of them, including Alex's brother, are learning sign language to help Alex out as much as possible.
We don't often think about how much we take our five senses for granted, but if we were to lose just one of them, it would change our lives forever. Just think about never being able to experience the sight of your loved ones' face, or the sound of music, ever again. In the past, these disabilities used to be permanent: but now, more and more people are having their senses restored to them thanks to advances in medicine and technology mean that some people can be helped.
A mother has managed to capture the incredible moment that her baby daughter heard her voice for the very first time. Sienna Ashton, a year-old baby girl who lives in Melbourne, Australia with her parents Melanie and Latham, was born deaf and diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss at four-weeks-old, as a result of nerve damage in her inner ear.
However, doctors worked hard to endure that she would not be confined to live in a soundless world, and little Sienna was fitted with hearing aids in both ears. When Melanie switched them both on for the first time, she grabbed her camera and filmed her daughter reacting to sound for the very first time.
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Commenting on the poignant moment, Melanie stated: "We’d been afraid she would never speak, and I’d see other mums’ little ones hitting those milestones and wonder if that’d ever happen for Sienna. Now we know she’s going to grow up just fine, and have a fulfilled life, with so much support around her."
Melanie explains that Sienna "is profoundly deaf in her left ear, and moderately to severely impaired in her right. It was heartbreaking to hear. We had no idea if she’d ever even heard our voices, and couldn’t help but think of what life would be like and all the challenges she’d face growing up. I’d been really sick throughout the pregnancy, so couldn’t help worrying that this was all down to something I had done wrong."
"It’s a subtle reaction, but you can see something has changed. She’s just taking it all in. At one point, she started to get a little upset, so I soothed her and that’s when I knew, without a doubt, she could hear me. I was just reacting to her, telling her, ‘Hi bubba,’ over and over, so she could get used to me."
She added: "Latham and I both unknowingly carried a gene that we passed on to her, It was a very bittersweet moment. We know now this was nobody’s fault, but it was difficult hearing about this gene we’d had no idea we had. If we have any more children, there is a chance we will pass it to them also, but seeing Sienna and what an amazing character she has makes us less afraid of this. There are discussions to be had, but we know the steps to take now, and how much support is out there."
Despite having her cochlear implants fitted, Sienna is still being taught how to use sign language to help her communicate. However, recently she managed to say her first word: "Mum." It's good to know that mother and daughter can now hear each other loud and clear.
On August 2nd this year, Christy Keane gave birth to a beautiful little girl called Charlotte. She had bright blue eyes, adorable chubby cheeks, and - as far as everybody could tell - was a perfectly healthy baby. However, doctors had some news for Christy and her husband Daniel: Charlotte had bilateral profound congenital hearing loss.
This came as a bit of a shock to the parents, who weren't warned at any point during the pregnancy that the baby might have hearing problems, and have no history of deafness on either side of their families. In an emotional post on Instagram, Christy wrote:
"It still feels strange to say out loud- our daughter is deaf. To be honest, it still doesn't fully seem real ... Sometimes I worry the darkness and silence must feel overwhelmingly lonely and scary for her at night. I pray my touch and presence is enough to reassure her throughout the day."
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For a while, Christy accepted that her little girl would never be able to hear, and began planning ways in which she could still ensure the best quality of life for Charlotte.
However, after two months of not being able to hear at all, Charlotte was given a hearing aid - and her response was beautiful.
As soon as her mom says "hello", little Charlotte breaks into a huge smile. She looks in awe of her mother, and - amazingly - appears to be holding back happy tears as she hears voices for the first time.
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The family never intended to post the video publicly but, after some prompting from family, put the clip on Facebook so that their friends could share their happiness. In no time at all, however, the post gained over 10 million views, and has been shared thousands of times across various platforms.
In an interview about the short video, Christy recalled the moment her daughter's expression changed upon hearing her voice:
"I had never in my life seen that face before.
"I'm her mother, and I know the look in her eyes when she's sad, upset or hurting, and that connection, and that moment when our eyes met and she heard my voice for the first time, that was true emotion from her.
"All this time that we had spent sad that she wasn't able to hear us, all that pain went away."
For now, the hearing aid only amplifies what little sound Charlotte is able to hear - but there may be an even more effective treatment for her in the future.
When she is closer to a year old, Charlotte may be able to get cochlear implants, which would actually improve the quality of her hearing without the need for hearing aids. However, Charlotte's parents are still learning American Sign Language so that they can communicate better with their daughter regardless of how strong her hearing is.
They also have plans to visit speech therapists in order to eventually help her learn to talk.
"She's taught me so much about connection, engagement and perspective that I otherwise wouldn't have even had the possibility of knowing," Christy said. She added: "Every day, we experience a miracle when we put her hearing aids in and get to see her smile."
Even with what little hearing she has at the moment, Charlotte is still fascinated by new sounds and voices. According to her parents, she loves listening to her older sister chatting away, and always smiles when she hears her mom singing.
A four-month-old baby girl has gone viral after her parents shared a clip of her reaction to hearing their voices for the very first time. Baby Georgina can be seen smiling and giggling to herself when her new hearing aids are switched on in a clip that has since been seen around the world.
Georgina’s 32-year-old father, Paul Addison, accompanied the clip on Twitter with the caption, "When our daughter's new hearing aids are turned on in the morning," prompting thousands of positive reactions from the internet.
Check out the heartwarming clip in the video below:
In an extensive interview with Sky News, Addison revealed that Georgina’s journey was a work in progress since she had been diagnosed as severely deaf in September. However, he went on to describe the second that the aids were turned on as a “lightbulb moment” that he felt he had to share with the world.
"When I found that she had hearing problems I just switched into practical mode and optimistic mode. I just had to find out what could be done about it. Thankfully the hearing aids were provided by the NHS."
Addison added that, although the aids have "improved (Georgina’s) hearing greatly," she will continue to require "more tests on her hearing in future." However, despite uncertainty over the future, there’s little doubt that the hearing aids have been a happy development for the Addisons.
Georgina has even made some TV appearances since warming the hearts of people around the world:
"When we turn her hearing aids on each morning it is absolutely delightful, really wonderful. She's more happy, more alert, and she can hear her mother's voice. I'm so just so happy that the clip has been enjoyed so many people across the world."
The original video has now been seen over 700,000 times since it was first posted on Thursday.
And for another moment that'll bring tears to your eyes, check out this colorblind student seeing color for the very first time:
For those of us with full hearing, it can be difficult to imagine what it's like not to just not be deaf, but to have never heard a single sound. However, there are some people out there who were born with impaired hearing but later gained the ability to hear. One user recently took to Reddit to ask a fascinating question many of us wouldn't even think to ask:
"No longer deaf people of reddit what's something you thought would have a certain noise but were surprised it doesn't?"
As it turns out, there are plenty of things that formerly deaf people believed would make a certain noise, and some things they were shocked made a noise at all. Some are interesting, while others are pretty damn funny.
Paper, cats and... boobs?
"Friend's sister was very hard of hearing, nearly deaf. She got Cochlear implants. At work I was asked to help her pair her implants with the her new phone (because they are freaking bluetooth). While I am doing this she is happily telling me how sensitive they are "I can hear paper!" she had no idea paper sliding on paper made a noise.
"She then told me she could hear her hand sliding on the wall. And how cats annoyed her because sometimes they made a sound, but sometimes they just made the action but no sound.
"But then out of the blue she says 'What's weird is, boobs don't make noise, you really think they would...'
"I lost it, I cracked up." - xilstudio
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Toys and wind
"I thought the wind made super loud wooooosh sounds but it doesn’t so that was lame. Also thought my toys were silent but oh boy they were super loud... makes sense why my parents hated them!" -McScrumpy
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She's got a point here
"My wife refused to get hearing aids for years. We bought a house that backs on a four-lane highway. I tolerate noise well. When she came home with her new hearing aids, she went out to the back yard, came back and asked me 'WHY DID YOU LET US BUY THIS HOUSE?'" - TallMickey
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Who could've known?
"I screamed when I first heard a toilet flush." - kmw7
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Rain, snow and gravel
"Someone I️ know was surprised to hear the sound of gravel as you walk on it. They were also surprised rain has a sound and not snow." - StatickPulse
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She's in for it come Christmas...
"My mom had been hearing impaired for most of her life, with it getting worse as she aged. When she was about 55 she finally got hearing aids. She called me one day to ask if I knew that they played music in the grocery store and to ask how long they’d been doing that." - sarahsuebob
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The little pleasures!
"After getting my one hearing aid (YES if you just need one on one side DO get it it IS life changing) I stood by my bed and made the blankets crinkle for like, probably too long." - lesserantilles
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If only they knew this earlier...
"I saw something on Facebook the other day. A teacher apparently has a class where she has deaf students and hearing students together. One of the Deaf students ripped a fart, and then noticed all the other hearing students looking at them. Conversation between teacher and student in sign language, the student is now Mortified to learn that Farts have a sound, and EVERYONE (hearing ones anyway) knows its them when they rip one." - Mohgreen
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Welcome to the world of sarcasm
"My deaf students had trouble understanding sarcasm because it’s all about intonation. One of them got aids that really helped, and she was shocked that “Cute shirt” could mean the exact opposite." - maruffin
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Toilet humour
"When I got my implant, I didnt realize how loud peeing can be... and poops. I turn my implant/aid off when I go into bathroom, especially public bathroom." -DeafLady
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Sunlight and waves
"My ASL teacher was really surprised that the ocean's waves could sound different depending on the weather/choppiness, and that wind would make sound as well. She also told us she also assumed that the sunlight would make a different sound hitting asphalt versus grass, only to learn it doesn't at all. (Which, honestly, I think is pretty sensible. You can't see the wind but it makes a sound, why wouldn't the sunlight too?)" - plantpet
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Voices
"I had a friend who was surprised to find out that people have different sounding voices." - bookluvr83
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Clocks
"I have been deaf since I was a baby. I wore hearing aids all my life...when I got a cochlear implant at the age of 40, the one sound I have been unable to get accustomed to is the sound of clocks ticking. The grandfather clock sometimes makes me crazy enough to stop in in action... as well as all the clocks that tick-tock. They’re LOUD!" - JellybeansInTX
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The sun
"I always assumed the sun had a gentle roar to it, like an engine idling in the background or a distant waterfall" - boilroil
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If there's one thing those of us with full hearing can learn from this thread - it's that there are a lot of sounds that we take for granted, and plenty of annoying ones we've just tuned out completely.
Four-year-old Gabriel Toseland is already able to use sign language to interpret television shows and movies for her parents, who are both deaf.
The toddler began learning how to sign when he was just four months old, and now he is able to sign shows and movies for his mother, Abigail, and her partner, Conor.
Recently, as the family sat next to their Christmas tree in Cheshire, England, Abigail managed to capture the moment where Gabriel interpreted a film on camera, and it's safe to say that the internet thought it was totally heartwarming.
Watch as this father signs a wedding song for a deaf bride:
Since being posted on Sunday the 22nd December, the video has been viewed tens of thousands of times.
Speaking to the Metro, 26-year-old Abigail said: "He first started to learn to sign with baby sign, saying things such as milk, bath and nappy. He has picked up more and more sign language over time and he has become very natural."
"We felt that it’s important to teach him so he can communicate with us without any frustration or communication barrier. As both parents faced a lot of barriers growing up, we want him to be able to use both languages. He’s a CODA (child of deaf adults) and his bilingualism are fantastic," she continued.
Abigail has been teaching her son words as and when he needs them. "I teach him by speaking as I sign so he picks it up. For example, I would sign milk before giving it to him. He’s a fantastic fast learner. He signed before he spoke,’ she explained to the publication.
Gabriel's skills are not just useful, however, they have also enhanced family life for the Toseland's. "We have an absolutely fantastic bond between us. He makes sure to make me aware that there somebody at door. He loves to help me if there is an announcement stating that a shop is closing or that the tram us ready to leave," Abigail added.
"He is able to bond with children who have learning difficulties or other disabilities very well as he be able to gesture and relate to them very much because his parents are deaf."
Now, Gabriel is helping to teach Abigail's daughter, who is 19-months-old, to speak and sign too.
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