Emotional Moments when a Deaf Woman Hears for the First Time in 40 Years
Joanne Milne was overwhelmed with emotion, fighting back tears and gasping to catch her breath when she heard her doctor recite the days of the week. She was born with the rare condition Usher Syndrome. Ms Milne has been deaf since birth and in her mid-20s she lost her sight to the condition.
The 40-year-old, from Gateshead underwent a life-changing operation to have cochlear implants fitted last month. She waited anxiously for four weeks before they could be switched on as part of the procedures.
The video capturing the switch-on has the 40-year-old Ms Milne emotionally telling her doctor her own voice sounds ‘very, very strange’, before adding: ‘Wow, it is absolutely amazing.’
She said the switch on had been the ‘most emotional and overwhelming’ experience of her life. She added: ‘I’m still in shock now. I have to learn to recognise what these sounds are as I build a sound library in my brain. Hearing things for the first time is so emotional from the ping of a light switch to running water. I can’t stop crying and I can already foresee how it’s going to be life changing. I’m so happy.
Over the last 48 hours hearing someone laughing behind me, the birds twittering and just being with friends… they didn’t have to tap my arm to get my attention which a massive leap.’
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