A man was overwhelmed with emotion after hearing for the first time thanks to a cochlear implant.<br /><br />Aric Hoffmann, 28, has moderate hearing loss, meaning he has very limited or no ability to hear sounds at all.<br /><br />Emotional video shows Aric speechless and tearful after the implant was turned on for the first time on May 31st. <br /><br />It will take three to six months for Aric to fully understand all of the new sounds he’s hearing, during which time he will engage in auditory rehabilitation.<br /><br />Aric, from Los Angeles, California, USA, said: “I felt like a very emotional moment of my life had begun.<br /><br />“I was very happy, crying and overwhelmed to hear the sounds that I had never heard so clearly.<br /><br />“My eyes welled up with tears after my audiologist asked me how I was feeling.<br /><br />“I tried to say something to express how I felt but the words wouldn’t come.”<br /><br />Aric has dealt with hearing impairment since he contracted meningitis at the age of six months.<br /><br />Up until now, Aric communicated using sign language and by reading lips.<br /><br />But as he got older his hearing worsened, communication became too difficult, pushing him to get a cochlear implant.<br /><br />Aric said: “Socialising with people was the most challenging for me before getting my implant because sometimes I don’t understand what people are saying.<br /><br />“I was more often looking at their faces to be able to understand and read lips.<br /><br />“I’m now so excited to hear people talking so clearly without asking to repeat and be able to keep the conversations going.”<br /><br />Immediately after getting his implant, Aric planned to visit one of his favourite places, Disneyland, to see his favourite princess Ariel.<br /><br />He said: “When the Walt Disney Tiki Room show started, I was amazed how animatronic birds and tropical sounds came into my implants.<br /><br />“I was happy to hear the whole show and it made me realise what I was missing out on.”<br /><br />Aric is still adapting to all the new sounds he can hear, especially in his work as a movie entertainment facilities assistant.<br /><br />He said: “When people started to show up at my work, I started to pick up more sounds that I hadn't heard before.<br /><br />“It was very challenging for me to focus on someone talking because I kept hearing something in the background.”
