Hearing opens 'whole 'nother world'

Caesar Marino hoped to hear birds chirp again, perhaps the hushed little voices of grandchildren. Mostly deaf since age seven, Marino, 63, had a cochlear implant surgically implanted within the inner ear during a procedure at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview recently. The implant is a complex electronic device to help people with severe to profound hearing impairment hear and it was turned on for the first time on Feb. 3. In this photo:] Marino, of Little Canada, reacted after hearing a computer-generated tone from audiologist Emily Farmer, left, as Marino's wife Jackie, right, looked on. After the device was tested Marino said: "Is that me talking? Holy! I'm gonna change my voice. I sound like Donald Duck here. 'What's up doc?'" Marino said, laughing. " Two weeks later Marino, who has three sons, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren, said his ability to hear was steadily improving. Marino said he had become angry at times over the years about being deaf and not achieving some of his dreams - including becoming a radio announcer and a pilot. But now, he said, his happiness level was rising. "So let's say I was a 7 or 8. I'm a 10. I'm a ten now because of what I'm hearing and what I'm anticipating... I'm feeling another sense of a whole 'nother world coming." (Joel Koyama — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)