SCORES of deaf children will hear for the first time after NHS chiefs announced plans to fund pioneering surgery.
Kids aged five and under who cannot use hearing aids will be fitted with implants that send signals to the auditory nerves and brain.
It is estimated that 15 children a year will be assessed for the devices which cost £60,000 each. Operations will be in London and Manchester with treatment available to kids across England.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said yesterday: “This surgery has the power to transform the futures of young children and give fresh hope to more families.”
Leia Armitage, who was born with a rare form of deafness and never expected to speak, can now tell her parents she loves them.
She was almost two years old and the first child in London to have an auditory brainstem implant in 2013, by the team at Guy’s Hospital.
Dad Bob said: “It’s taken five years and a lot of rehab but Leia now puts full sentences together.
“There’s nothing better than hearing her say, ‘I love you daddy’.”