Seven-year-old twins born totally deaf are now able to speak fluent ITALIAN

A pair of twin boys are able to speak fluent English and Italian - despite being profoundly deaf.  

Zack and Dylan Pezzuto, from Bath, were born without any hearing after doctors suspected an infection damaged their ear canals in the womb.

Their family feared the worst, but - thanks to a cochlear implant and work from medical teams in both the US and UK - they're now fully communicative.

Their mother, Deborah, said: 'When they activated the cochlear their eyes came alive, they could start hearing everything. 

'It was different for them than when a child born with hearing first hears sound.'

Mrs Pezzuto, 51, and her husband, Alessandro, 47, moved to England from New York after their sons were born.

The couple, who works as a business and executive coach respectively, were both stunned to learn of their twins' diagnosis.

Mrs Pezzuto, who is in the process of writing a book about her family's experience, said: 'They were completely deaf, severe to profound.

'We really discovered the same day they were born, when they didn't pass the newborn hearing test, but at the time the doctors said don't worry, there could be liquid in their ears.

'They tried again the next day, because I had a caesarean, but they didn't pass it again. The doctors said we needed to come back in ten days for a deep test, known as an ABR (Auditory Brainstem Reaction test).

'After the ABR they told us the boys were born totally deaf and that they needed surgery at six months, they said if they didn't do the surgery the twins would not be able to talk in a normal way.'

Mrs Pezzuto said the news was devastating because they had never had this occur in her family and she didn't know anything about how hearing loss would affect her boys.

'My idea at the time was still hearing loss meant you are not able to talk, and you can only sign,' she added. 'I thought 'oh my' but we are a talking family, we talk a lot, we can't live in silence, it's going to be a very difficult situation.'

She continued: 'The doctors told me not to worry and that the twins would have audio verbal therapy, hearing aids, and then cochlear implants. They told me they would be able to talk and listen.

'I was really shocked, and I thought, why are they telling me this? It's impossible. 

'But then they showed us a video of a six-year-old girl, who was talking, singing and going to mainstream school and told us that is how the boys could be.'

Mrs Pezzuto said the doctors gave Zack and Dylan a hearing aid immediately, although neither twin appeared to react to wearing them, and at six months they were given the cochlear implant.

This is when they could hear for the very first time. 

'They were curious about everything when the cochlear was activated, they were turning their heads towards every sound,' she said.

'The boys started laughing and smiling towards their sister [Keisha, aged 8] and to us and their balance even improved, because this can be impaired by deafness, and it improved as they tried to get to everything they were hearing.'

Zack and Dylan still have the same internal part of the cochlear implant, but the exterior parts are updated as new technology comes out. 

Now, several years on, the children are thriving in school and learning a third language - French. 

'When they started at the school I was really scared because they

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