LEHIGHTON, Pa. -- It was a big day for a little boy from Carbon County. Ziyke Moser, 7, from Lehighton, has struggled with hearing his whole life, but thanks to a hearing foundation, he now has the gift of sound.
Despite the excitement on his face and the happy hellos from classmates, this isn't the first day of school for Ziyke. It is the first day this first grader can hear clearly.
"I got my hearing aids," said Ziyke.
Ziyke has struggled with hearing loss his entire life. He's been reading lips to understand people.
But now, those days are behind him.
"I would look at them and I could hear what they are saying, but now I don't have to. I can hear right from my hearing aids," said Ziyke.
Ziyke, along with his mom, Ashley Moser, came into Miracle Ear in Lehighton where the gift of sound waited for him in a small box.
"Being able to watch him get the hearing aids turned on and he stopped reading the lips and was looking around was amazing," said Ashley Moser, Ziyke's mother.
Insurance didn't cover Ziyke's hearings aids, but his mother was determined to find a way to make it work. That's when she found out about the Miracle Ear Foundation.
"My grandfather came here for his hearing aids because they weren't covered by insurance either, so he told us to check it out and see what they could do. It turned out, the foundation could help him," said Moser.
Hearing specialist Amy Buchman has been working with Ziyke since June.
"He is so young and to be able to provide the gift of sound to Ziyke … I am so honored. He is really going to start receiving some better speech understanding which is going to help him across the board," said hearing specialist Amy Buchman.
Ziyke is excited to finally be able to hear sounds like never before, including, "My teacher, other teachers, and my coach," said Ziyke.
A big sports fan, Ziyke looks forward to hearing the sound a soccer ball makes when you kick it and the drop of a hockey puck, hence the black and yellow hearing aids for his team, the Baby Penguins.