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Boy, 3, hears dad for first time

[WTHR 6/20/13]

“A remarkable story out of North Carolina where a little boy born completely deaf is now able to hear. Grayson Clamp heard his father’s voice for the very first time recently.

Think about everything we hear around us every day: the layers of noise outside from buses to trucks to people.

Until three weeks ago, Grayson Clamp had no idea how what birdsong sounded like. It’s a thrill for his parents Nicole and Len Clamp to witness.

“He likes sound. He enjoys the stimulus the input. He’s curious. He definitely enjoys it,” said his father.

But his device needs fine tuning. Grayson’s speech is delayed and there is still work to do.

“We don’t know exactly what it’s like. We don’t know exactly what he hears,” said his mom. “If he hears everything we hear, some of what we hear. His brain is still trying organize itself to use sound.”

Grayson’s device uses a microchip on his brain to compute the sound. The installation was a groundbreaking procedure at University of North Carolina hospitals.

His reaction as he hears his father’s voice for the first time is moving. Grayson’s mouth drops open as he turns to his father.

Len Clamp believes Grayson’s story will help a lot more children as it help doctors improve upon the technology. It’s a journey that he believes started well before this little boy was born.

Len and Nicole decided to be foster parents. They wanted to help medically fragile children.

“We got grayson, took him home from the hospital and he belonged. He was ours from day one,” said Len.

He changed their lives and they are changing his, giving him the gift of sound.”

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