Hearing aids help 6-month-old twins hear parents for first time
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A pair of identical twins in California born with severe hearing loss got to hear their parents’ voices for the first time Wednesday after a nonprofit helped fit them with custom-made hearing aids.
The 6-month-old sisters, Kayla and Kiara Hernandez, risked developmental delays in academics, speech and communication without using the assistive technology early in life. Their parents, Gemila and Raul Hernandez, couldn’t get their daughters hearing aids themselves because their insurance didn’t cover the $12,000 they would have cost. Like many insurance plans, theirs considered hearing aids elective.
"It was so hard for us because I questioned, 'Have they ever heard me say that I love them?’” their mother, Gemila, told ABC 7.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When Newport Beach-based HearAid Foundation heard of the Hernandez’s story, they fit Kayla and Kiara for hearing aids. The nonprofit helps families like the Hernandezes gain access to hearing aids.
"They will be able to hear all those sounds ... so many blessings and beautiful things this world has to offer to them," Gemila told the news station, holding back tears.