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Neil and Helen Robinson, a married couple who had been together for twelve years, had been deaf since they were born. The two talked to each other using sign language, lip reading, and hearing aids.
However, their lives are about to change when the University of Southampton Audiology Implant Service or USAIS offered the couple new cochlear implants. They’re going to be the first one to receive this treatment.
The Robinsons underwent a surgery where tiny electrodes were put into their skulls. As a result, the two can now hear each other and communicate without using sign language, lip reading, and hearing aids.
The truly emotional and groundbreaking moment were captured on video. Neil, who’s 50 years old, jokingly said that Helen’s voice is not very pleasant at all. Neil later said, “I am getting used to it now. It felt incredible, in a happy way. It felt really emotional.”
The couple, who live near Salisbury, were born without hearing because their mothers contracted rubella while they were pregnant. Even though they couldn’t hear anything, the couple said that they managed to live full and content lives.
Neil works as an Assistant Curate at Salisbury Cathedral. They had a son.
After years of dysfunctional hearing aids, Helen, who’s 54 years old, successfully persuaded her husband to undergo surgery and have implants.
According to SWNS, “The implant consists of two parts which sit on the inside and outside of the skull just above the ear and are joined by a magnet.”
The devices were switched on while the couple visited USAIS in January. The clinicians initially played out drum sounds and a musical triangle to test if the devices work. The implants had to be fine-tuned first. Also, it wasn’t stated how much hearing they can actually acquire.
USAIS has given 1,000 of the same devices to deaf people after the center opened in 1990. The Robinsons mark the first time they did this to a couple.
At first, cochlear implants were only thought to be effective on people who recently lost their hearing.
Dr. Mary Grasmeder told SWNS that she’s treating more and more patients who had been deaf since they were born.
She said, “People who have been deaf for some time don’t have the same expectation of sound will be like compared with someone who has just lost their hearing.”
Dr. Grasmeder continued, “Because their auditory system is not so well developed it will be more difficult for them to process the information and to understand it.”
