Hi °C | Lo °C Ulster twin tots Curtis and Reece Flanagan are set for their best-ever Christmas - thanks to a miracle operation that has allowed them to hear for the first time.
The Kilkeel twins really got their best present ever three months ago.
At that time they had cochlear implants fitted and it means they can now hear for the first time.
The implants place electrodes deep inside the ear.
These produce impulses which are transmitted to brain and interpreted as sound.
Before their implants, Curtis and Reece were trapped in a world they could not hear - or understand.
Mother Orla is delighted with their progress.
She said that as a result their behaviour was often difficult to control.
"Anything they wanted, they couldn't tell me. It was so frustrating for them, so frustrating for me - the whole house was in chaos," she recalls.
But since their operations, the boys' behaviour has improved remarkably.
And Orla is delighted with their progress.
"They are able to say Santa for the first time, they are able to point at the lights on the tree and say Christmas tree and lights", she says.
At Belfast City Hospital surgeon Joe Toner has pioneered fitting cochlear implants.
He believes their operations have given them a bright future.
"I think this has the potential to transform their lives," he said.
"They probably will be able to attend mainstream school, they won't have to have segregated education and, hopefully, they will be able to integrate in most activities with their peers."
This year, Mr Toner has fitted implants to the Flanagans and eight other children.
