Watch 1-year-old boy hear for the first time

Exploring a sense he never had, 1-year-old Max Beeman's world opened up after experiencing sound for the first time.

"It's funny to think about a one-year-old baby having a personality, but his personality is so strong," said Max's mom, Trish Beeman.

Trish and Richard Beeman are Max's parents. Ava is his 2-year-old sister. When he arrived, he fit right in.
"Max, for all intents and purposes, looked like any other happy six-month old," Trish said. "(He) ate, played, smiled, cooed, just your typical baby is what we thought. And then he wasn't."
What his parents could not tell, is that Max could not hear.
"You hold these tiny babies and you have these big dreams for them," Trish said. "And then, in that one moment, you wonder, 'Can any of these dreams come true?'"
Turns out, the answer is yes.
The FDA now says children a year old can receive cochlear implants.
"They get the medicine and just go limp, right in your arms, and you're just like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe this is happening to him, he's so small!'" she said.
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A surgery team from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta performed the operation days after Max's first birthday. Nearly one month later, the implant was activated. And Max, for the first time in his little life, heard sound.
See Max's reaction when he hears for the first time in the video above
Just like that, a new chapter, a new world - a world for Max, of doors opened.
"That there's technology out there that can give him that gift," Trish said. "And our family that gift -- it's incredible to think that sound can be re-created. It's a great day."