Deaf child hears for the first time thanks to pioneering treatment in the United Kingdom – World

Opal Sandy was born deaf and, at 18 months old, became the first person to be able to hear “almost perfectly” after undergoing groundbreaking surgery that lasted just 16 minutes, according to the The Guardian.

This is a pioneering gene therapy trial, called ‘DB-OTO’. It is indicated for children with mutations in the OTOF gene, that is, for babies born with auditory neuropathy – a disease that consists of nerve impulses that go from the inner ear to the brain – which is the case of Opal Sandy.

The child, from Oxfordshire, England, started playing after the surgery and his parents were “shocked” when they realized he could now hear. The parents also said that their daughter started to like banging the cutlery on the table.

Jo Sandy, the child’s mother, said that allowing her daughter to undergo pioneering treatment “was a risk that paid off.” “We were given a unique opportunity”, concludes the mother, quoted by Reuters.

Ear disease specialist Manohar Bance, quoted by The Guardianstated that the results were “better” than researchers expected.

“We can start using gene therapy in young children, restoring hearing for a variety of different types of genetic hearing loss,” the otolaryngologist told Reuters.