'It took 11 months for Brooks to hear our voices. Now he is set for the Hampden roar'

The Hampden roar is renowned across the sporting world.

But when Falkirk defender Leon McCann experiences it next month it will be extra special.

For the Scottish Cup semi-final crowd will include his 11-month-old-son Brooks, just weeks after the toddler heard his parents' voices for the first time.

McCann and partner Morgan Deakin hope their own Bairn - who has just been fitted with a cochlear implant - can be a lucky charm as John McGlynn's side bid to reach their first cup final since 2015.

Brooks was just three-months-old last April when the couple found out, after four failed hearing tests, that he was profoundly deaf.

The following month Brooks was given hearing aids.

They wouldn't allow him to hear anything on their own but wearing them was designed to prepare his brain for a device called a cochlear implant in the future.

It consists of an implant, fitted under the skin during an operation, that picks up signals which are sent to the brain allowing people to hear.

Cochlear implants only work for certain deaf people so Brooks had to go through months of tests to see if he was a candidate.

But the family, from East Kilbride, got the life-changing call in December to notify them that their son was eligible for the operation.

At the start of last month Brooks went through the surgery and he had his cochlear implants activated last week.

On 5 March he heard his parents' voices for the first time.

And the following night his Falkirk defender father Leon, 25, helped his team secure a place in the final four of the Scottish Cup after a 2-1 victory over Dundee United.

Speaking to BBC Scotland News, Morgan, 24, said: "When Brooks was diagnosed we didn't know one person that is deaf. We were like 'Wow this is brand new to us'.

"We got told that Brooks was getting absolutely nothing back from the hearing tests and that he was in the bracket for being profoundly deaf so he can't hear anything even at 90 decibels.

"They said if anything he would probably hear a jet engine if he was standing underneath it."

Over the next year Brooks and his parents went through extensive medical testing to try and figure out the cause of his hearing loss and if he was a candidate for the cochlear implant.

Morgan said: "We were told he would be fitted with hearing aids that might allow him to hear something but, more importantly, they would stimulate the auditory nerve which would be of benefit for the cochlear implant.

"He was fitted with hearing aids when he was eight-weeks-old. We never really noticed any reactions.

"They were super cute but sound wise he never got anything back so we proceeded with tests to see if he would be a candidate for the cochlear implant."

Brooks had an MRI in August and was then referred to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, the only place that can fit the implants in Scotland.

They had to wait another five months before meeting consultants and surgeons to go ahead with Brooks' surgery.

And after getting the implants installed Brooks is able to hear in time for his first birthday.

Morgan explained: "They do a month of silence after the surgery to allow the implant to settle nicely and to allow any swelling to go down.

"Then the switch on was last Thursday (5 March).

"They told us step by step what would happen next but nothing could have prepared me for the emotional rollercoaster.

"He started off reacting to different beeps, then they altered the settings so he could hear the sounds around him which was our voices first.

"We waited for so long now to watch him at eleven months old hearing us say 'hello' and 'I love you' for the first time was just surreal."

The family captured the emotional moment on video.

Brooks' face becomes animated with the flurry of the new sounds he could hear.

He then he grinned after hitting a drum and realising he was the one making the loud noise.

Morgan said: "We weren't even upset we were just so proud and so in awe of him.

"We couldn't even take it in during the moment.

"He was so confused and his tiny eyebrows kept shooting up.

"As soon as he can hear his face comes alive as he is thinking: 'What an earth is that?'

"His wee face and eyebrows said everything - as if his brain is going a 100 miles an hour.

"When he banged the drum for the first time his face lit up with a smirk then he heard music for the first time on the way home."

The following day Falkirk set up a Hampden clash with Dunfermline for a place in the Scottish Cup final against Celtic or St Mirren.

After a euphoric week the family are now excited for a future full of firsts for Brooks.

Morgan said: "There are so many things you take for granted with a hearing child that you wouldn't even realise.

"He absolutely loves the hoover and has started chasing after it. He keeps looking back to us with amazement matching the sounds to things."

She said the whole family were "just absolutely taking it in".

Morgan added: "We are all talking to him as much as possible, reading him books we have red every night for months before but now he can listen.

"Now he'll be all his dad's games and finally be able to hear the fans cheering.

"Then in the semi-final hearing the roars from Hampden will be surreal for him and our whole family.

"It makes the moment so much more special."

Morgan said the process was isolating as a new mother and at first she struggled to find resources before sharing her journey on social media.

Now she has a network of parents who have been through similar experiences and even finds many families reaching out for help.

The couple who are learning British Sign Language (BSL) with Brooks have also started a charity in his name called B Heard.

It is aimed at families who may not be able to afford access to resources, like BSL courses and auditory verbal therapy.

Morgan said: "Something we have found on this journey was there isn't much funding out here for these families.

"We are lucky to be able to afford extra resources we need but I really questioned what if families aren't in this position?

"How are they getting support to communicate with their children? So we started the charity to raise funds and awareness for this cause."

You can find support for the issues mentioned here.