Linkety-Link! "Watch: The moving moment a deaf woman is overcome by emotion as she HEARS for the first time after having her cochlear implants switched on Joanne Milne suffers the rare condition Usher Syndrome It left her deaf since birth and in her mid-20s it claimed her sight Last month the 40-year-old underwent a life-changing operation to have cochlear implants fitted She waited anxiously for four weeks before they could be switched on Overcome with emotion, fighting back the tears and gasping for breath, Ms Milne breaks down as her doctor recites the days of the week She said the switch on had been the 'most emotional and overwhelming' experience of her life Amazing.
I take the comments on this item with a pinch of salt as I know from having hearing problems from birth how people with good hearing react to those that haven't the luxury of decent hearing. And believe me folks it is a luxury so take care of your hearing for when its damaged, or lost altogether then you enter a different world. Mickey taking is part of life but some borders on contempt for those with hearing dissabillities, for many years in the building trade I was knicknamed 'Eh what?' yes you can laugh if you want too, and that is just one of the more acceptable names I was called due to a dissabillity which was none of my doing. So I felt sympathy for this woman as I know people who have had this implant and it is quite common. The only thing that puzzles me is her speech, most people who have been totally deaf most or all of their lives cannot talk properly as they have never heard speech and pronunciation and this leads to more mickey taking by those with no such impediment. But this lady spoke quite well if this was the first time she had heard sounds. Whatever the situation its good to see progress in helping people with hearing problems and on another note I have read where sillicon chips have been implanted in the cornea of an eye enabling blind people seem images, blurred images at the moment but a wonderful enhancement in the field microelectronics.
