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Thanks to implant, boy gets his hearing back – and his reaction is adorable

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PHOTO: CATERS/WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA
PHOTO: CATERS/WWW.MAGAZINEFEATURES.CO.ZA

This boy can’t help but dance when hearing live music for the first time after months spent in silence following an illness.

When American tot Jace Lee turned four years old last year, his mom, Brenda, became increasingly worried about the lack of progression in her little boy’s speech.

After taking him to a specialist, Brenda learned that he’d suffered a sudden case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which had left him completely deaf.

“Very suddenly we realised Jace no longer was responding to his name or turning when sounds were made,” Brenda says.

After spending a few months in complete silence, little Jace was finally fitted with a cochlear implant – a surgically implanted electronic device providing a sense of hearing to the profoundly deaf.

Three months after having his implants fitted, Brenda thought it would be an amazing idea for Jace to experience his first basketball game. But instead of watching the basketball game – which was being played in Dallas, Texas – Jace, who is now totally mesmerised by sound, ran towards the thumping noise and galloped across the floor to bust some moves.

“He’s so curious now, we love watching him discover new things and sounds.

“This was his first basketball game and we were so excited. It’s special to us to have these experiences as a family and have him soak everything up in this way.

“As we walked in, he signed to us, ‘Where’s that sound?’ – and danced his way down the stairs to where the band was.

“It’s overwhelming for us, sometimes we don’t cry because of the excitement and sometimes we are excited to tears,” she says.

The 26-year-old mom says she hopes he’ll live a normal life with his implants.

“This was the first time he’d seen a live band and he was overwhelmed – his body just told him what to do,” she says.

“We hope he will now get the best out of the implants and lead a successful, happy life.”

Source: Magazine Features
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