Moment adorable boy hears clearly for the first time as hearing aid switches on

This is the heartwarming moment a deaf little boy hears clearly for the first time thanks to a new hearing aid.

Eight-year-old Henri Turkington was born with one ear and had tried various hearing aids throughout his life, but to no avail. Now the youngster from has gone viral after his parents shared a clip on TikTok of the moment his new hearing aid switched on.

Henri's face was visibly stunned as the sound from his new bone anchored hearing aid, which works using vibrations, came through loud and clear. In the 24-second video, a nurse can be heard telling Henri: "It might make a few whistles."

But the excitable little boy says: "I can hear it", as his eyes light up and a huge grin takes over his face.

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Henri's dad Lee said the family have always taken a positive attitude to his condition, using humour to make the youngster feel proud. Lee said: "We didn't know he was going to be born with one ear. We did some hearing tests as he got a bit older and then realised he was deaf on the left side.

"It's like the equivalent of putting your hand over one of your ears. The inside is there but the outside obviously isn't there. We say he's like a Mr Potato Head and you can just take one ear off — he's so comical with how he is with his ear."

A bone anchored hearing aid is a type of implant and is fitted to the skull with a minor operation. It is most commonly used for patients with hearing loss caused by sound being unable to reach the inner ear, according to the website.

The device works by sending vibrations through the bones near the ear and can be clipped on and off for activities such as swimming, washing or sleeping.

"Now, they have the bone anchor hearing aid, which they used to try years and years ago, when he was very small. He was a bit too young to use it — he used to pull it off and things like that.

"With the newer hearing aid, the vibrations then go onto his skull, which as he has the inside part of the ear, that's how you can hear. As you can see by the video, he was amazed by the sound." He added: "He's such a strong little boy."