[VIDEO] Watch The Truly Amazing Moment A 40-Year-Old Deaf Women Hears For The First Time
That extraordinary moment when a 40-year-old Joanne Milne from Gateshead (a large town in Tyne and Wear, England) who has been deaf since birth, hears for the first time.
By Sadho Ram — 29 Mar 2014, 03:22 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
A 40-year-old woman named Jo Milne was born with Usher Syndrome. As a result, she's been deaf since birth.
Usher syndrome is a rare and incurable genetic disorder that can cause hearing loss and visual impairment. As a result, Milne also began to lose her vision in her 20s.
gawker.com
Milne said, "Being deaf was just who I was. Unfortunately when I became registered blind things changed dramatically and for the first time being deaf became increasingly difficult."
But last month, February, Milne underwent a life-changing operation to fit Cochlear implants
Following the procedure, she faced a four-week wait for medics to switch on the implants to see if the operation had been a success.
dailymail.co.uk
Ms Milne was born with Usher Syndrome, leaving her deaf since birth. Last month the 40-year-old underwent an operation to have cochlear implants fitted (pictured)
Image via dailymail.co.ukNow, that the doctors have finally switched on Cochlear implants, Milne is experiencing a whole new sense: sound
Hearing for first time, a video capturing the switch-on shows Ms Milne breaking down as she tells her doctor her own voice sounds 'very, very strange', before adding: 'Wow, it is absolutely amazing.'
The 40-year-old burst into tears as her doctor recited the days of the week, and urged her to listen to her own voice for the first time
Image via eonline.comThe doctor tells the 40-year-old, from Gateshead: 'It is a big, big, life-changing day. It is such a huge thing you have just achieved, you should be really proud of yourself.'
dailymail.co.ukShe says the switch-on has been the 'most emotional and overwhelming experience' of her life
She said: '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.'
Ms Milne said the switch-on was the 'most emotional and overwhelming' experience of her life
Image via guim.co.uk'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.'
dailymail.co.ukSince she was diagnosed as deaf, Milne has made it her mission to mentor others living with Usher Syndrome
'Being deaf was just who I was. Unfortunately when I became registered blind things changed dramatically and for the first time being deaf became increasingly difficult,' she said.
dailymail.co.uk
WATCH: The breathtakingly emotional moment Milne's implants were switched on was captured on video and shared by her friend Tremayne Crossley
Milne thanked the team at the Midlands Implant Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, for the procedure
In an interview with BBC WM, her mother Ann said: "She is just overwhelmed by it all. To be able to hear footsteps and we went out for a meal and she said she could actually hear the clinking of the plate when she was eating. Things we just take for granted."
She says, "it's all very emotional and I'm so excited to discover more music and sounds"
"The hearing world sounds so loud and alien to me but over time, I will learn new sounds and build those up. I'm hearing words without lip-reading already; new sounds like the tannoy at a train station, my knife clinking my plate as I eat - even the rustle of a packet of crisps made me jump!"
express.co.uk
