A baby boy who was born deaf was filmed smiling and giggling after hearing music for the first time after having life-changing implants. Manning James, from Roanoake in Virginia, appeared taken aback as his ears picked up the sound of a television playing at his home earlier this month.

But within minutes, Manning was bouncing along to music from children’s show Muppet Babies, and also gave a delighted-sounding laugh as he got into his grove. The 10 month-old’s mother Noelle Brantley filmed the magical moment, and says it reduced her to tears.

She shared the clip on Facebook afterwards, writing: ‘To most people this is just something every baby does, but to me, this is incredible!’

Manning was fitted with a cochlear implant in both of his ears. The devices partially restore hearing by transmitting sound signals past the damaged part of the ear to wearers’ auditory nerves.

Their brains then interpret those signals as sounds, the Mayo Clinic explained.

Doctors say the sounds people with the implants pick up are not the same as a person with good hearing, and that wearers must learn how to interpret them.

But the devices are still transformative, with most people who have cochlear implants able to understand human speech within a year of receiving them.

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