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The moment a baby hears for the first time

Doctors at Cook Children's flipped a switch and baby Ayla heard for the very first time.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Baby Ayla Esler has been on earth for a whole year, but on Wednesday, she is living in an entirely new world.

Just the day before, doctors at Cook Children's flipped a switch and she heard for the very first time. Video of the moment has spread quickly online, with thousands of people watching her giggle and smile as her mom cried tears of joy.

"When I saw her happy and dancing and responding to sound for the first time, I just lost it. Because we've been waiting a long time," said mom Anna Esler.

Ayla was diagnosed just a few weeks after birth with profound hearing loss. At first, her parents thought that she'd never hear their voices. But dual cochlear implants have now changed that.

"I was sitting there thinking, 'Oh my gosh! She really is hearing,'" recalled dad Will Esler. "It works. It's happening."

They were back at Cook Children's with a therapist. Together with their three children, the family sang songs like Old MacDonald Had a Farm and Jesus Loves Me. They played instruments, letting Ayla experience new sounds and noises. Her big brother said he's trying to teach his sister her own name.

"Trying to get her to recognize her name. I've been saying, 'Ayla!'" explained Ender Esler, age 6.

The surgical implants will stay with Ayla as she grows. The devices outside her head can be upgraded as technology improves. She will need therapy in the months and years to come, but she is expected to have normal to near-normal hearing abilities.

Cook Children's completes about 100 implants every year, but for each family, there is nothing routine about a miraculous moment. "There's a thousand people out there that have made our daughter's life better," said Esler. "Thankfulness is the primary feeling, because we didn't get here by ourselves."

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