Now, he is the first child in the U.S. to have an auditory brain stem implant.
Doctors at UNC Chapel Hill Hospital placed the implant directly on the brain stem.
Medical officials describe it a microphone and a receiver: the implant if the receiver, which takes sound into the brain stem.
“Our audiology team at UNC Hospital was just phenomenal,” Len Clamp told CNN Friday morning.
Grayson’s mother, Nicole, said it has been a long road to get here.
“A huge relief for me because it was a long journey getting there and I knew it would work, but just seeing it work was just a huge, the culmination of a long journey to get there,” she said.
As for how Grayson is adjusting since that first sound only a month ago, his father said he is doing great.
“As long as he is enjoying the sound that he’s getting, then the plan is give it to him, because he needs to experience it,” said Len Clamp.
The procedure has been done mostly in Europe up to this point.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the implant in the U.S. for only 10 children, five who, like Grayson, were born without nerves and five who suffered traumatic damage.
via 3-year-old Charlotte boy hears for first time after brain stem… | www.wsoctv.com.