Watch granddad hear grandaughter speak for first time after his hearing was restored

By Molly Derrick via SWNS

A grandad who lost his hearing to cancer was overcome with emotion when he heard his granddaughter call him pop for the first time after getting a cochlear implant.

Warren Rolfe, 51, lost his hearing five years ago when granddaughter Savannah was six-months-old, so he had never heard her talk.

A mass was found on his neck and the grandad-of-three went through chemotherapy and radiation to become cancer free.

But the treatment impaired his vision and hearing, and he had to communicate via lip reading and writing on paper.

He had a cochlear implant fitted, and a video shows him having it turned on, and hearing the doctor, count up on the machine and ask him if it was coming through.

Once the implant had been turned on, he said "it sounds like a robot" and described it as sounding similar to Darth Vader.

He cried and said "that’s awesome."

"When his implant was fitted, it was like he was living again," said Savannah's mom, Warren's daughter, Sharnie Allsop, 27.

"I have three kids and he enjoys spending time with them, collecting stamps and building Lego.

Warren from Newcastle, NSW, Australia, had difficulty swallowing and a headache, before he was diagnosed with stage four nasopharyngeal carcinoma in September 2015.

At the time, Savannah was only six months old, so he could only hear her babbles.

"At the time, my second child was only six months old so he could hear her babbles," Sharnie said.

"He was completely deaf from 2015 until he had his implant fitted in 2020."

He got his implant switched on in March 2020.

"He was so excited. He cried happy tears and I have never seen him so happy," Sharnie said.

"He came home and was making so much noise, flushing the toilet and closing cupboard doors to hear the noises he hadn’t heard in five years."

She added: "He was able to hear her say ‘pop' for the first time. He could hear the kids and conversations.

"He was able to watch TV without subtitles and do small things we all take for granted.

"I was so excited to not have to write down everything I was saying to him anymore.

"His mobility also was better once he had more hearing. It has made such a huge impact on his overall happiness."

Warren is awaiting a second cochlear implant.

The video was taken on March 3, 2020.