The above video may be nearly five minutes long but it is worth every second. Trust us.
A heartwarming video of a deaf mother hearing her 6-year-old son's voice for the first time has recently gone viral.
The emotional clip was originally uploaded to YouTube in September 2012, but has resurfaced (much to our delight) after the young woman's aunt Catherine Arnold posted an update on Amy's progress.
The 26-year-old, who has been deaf since birth, heard the sound of her parents' and 6-year-old son's voices for the first time after having cochlear implants fitted.
In the clip Amy says she is confused after hearing her dad's voice and her eyes fill with tears as her son waves to her saying "Hi mom!"
Read the update on Amy's progress below:
"Thank you to everyone that appreciates and feels what a beautiful time this was and continues to be for Amy and our families.
"She is continuing her hard work of speech and sound therapy to distinguish what sound is.
"Her pronunciation has improved vastly and she can hear words and especially music! Naturally, after a lifetime of lip reading and signing, it is still necessary for her to rely on that skill to have conversation in a group.
"Every day is new and sometimes an exhausting experience. She loves the challenge to improve yet more and she is a joy to be around."
UK charity Action On Hearing Loss on cochlear implants:
Cochlear implants provide a sensation of hearing to those who have severe to profound permanent deafness. This means that they may be able to hear some sounds, but they cannot hear all the sounds that make up human speech. Listen to our sound through cochlear implant demos.
Instead of making the sound louder, like a hearing aid, the implant directly stimulates the auditory nerve (the nerve that carries sound from the cochlea to the brain) using electrical signals.
The goal of the cochlear implant is to provide access to the range of sounds that make up speech. Results can vary depending on the individual and can range from awareness of environmental sounds to hearing speech.
[H/T: Viral Viral Videos]