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If you've waited your whole life to be able to hear properly for the first time, then you might think that the moment simply couldn't get any better.
But for Mississippi Medical Centre patient Andrea Diaz, the emotional day took an even more poignant turn when her boyfriend, Kevin Peakman, decided to propose .
Surprise ending to cochlear implant appointment
The romantic gesture was witnessed by audiologist Dr Vicki Gonzales, Ms Diaz and Ms Diaz's mother and captured on video.
And in a particularly heart-warming sentiment, Mr Peakman reveals that the reason he chose to get down on one knee in the consulting room was because he wanted the first thing the woman he loved to hear was him asking her to marry him.
In the short clip, Dr Gonzales can be seen switching on Ms Diaz's implant for the first time, at which point the patient bursts into tears.
She explains that it's because it is "noisy" and "sounds funny", and it's through a mixture of tears and laughter that she hears her mother tell her she loves her - and then Mr Peakman asking her a very important question.
Andrea Diaz is overcome as she hears for the first time - and then accepts a marriage proposal (University of Mississippi Medical Center/Facebook) "I love you so much and you're my best friend, baby," he says. "I wanted to make the first thing you hear me asking you to marry me."
"Yes," Ms Diaz replies. "I like the ring. I can hear your voice!"
Ms Diaz is clearly overcome, saying: "There's so much going on!" before adding: "I'm very happy. It worked!"
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The University of Mississippi Medical Center, which put in the implant, posted the video to Facebook with the caption: "After receiving a cochlear implant, patients of UMMC ENT and Communicative Sciences audiologist Dr. Vicki Gonzalez are sometimes overcome with emotions when the device is turned on and the patient can gain or regain hearing.
"Andrea Diaz is one such example. She recently received an implant and became very emotional when the new device was activated, under the watchful eye of her mother and Kevin Peakman, her boyfriend. However, the day’s life-changing moments didn’t end there."
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