Deaf man miraculously can hear again after being shaken by massive earthquake
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: FOX 5
We often associate earthquakes with negatives outcomes - whether that be the tragic loss of life or communities being destroyed.
However, it's not all bad as one deaf man miraculously found he could hear again after being shaken by a massive earthquake.
In August 2011, a 5.8 magnitude shook the US East Coast, and most notably cracked the Washington Monument.
Robert Valderzak, a 75-year-old cancer patient at the time became deaf after suffering a fall that June.
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Somehow, Robert claimed that the earthquake miraculously restored his hearing.
While many on the East Coast were evacuating high-rise buildings as a result of the quake, Robert was left in utter joy after releasing his hearing had come back.
Speaking to FOX, he said: "I said, 'You know, my hearing is back. I can hear everything, people in the hallway'. Couldn’t ask for a better day.
"Why did it happen at that time, with my whole family there? There was God's touch in there."
Robert was in hospital being visited by his daughter and three sons when the quake hit.
"It was God's blessing," Robert told ABC News. "It was a miracle for me."
He added: "It shook me terrible - right out of the bed. But after that it stopped. And my son talked to me, and I could hear his voice."
While it's a pretty incredible story, I know what you're all thinking: How on earth is this possible?
Tests confirmed Robert's hearing had significantly improved, with doctors figuring out the reasoning for the medical 'miracle'.
Dr. Ross Fletcher, chief of staff at the VA Hospital, said at the time: "He had conductive hearing loss, caused by fluid in his middle ear, as well as loss due to nerve damage.
"A combination of a drug he was taking and the earthquake event itself likely led to him losing the fluid and gaining back his hearing."
Dr. Jennifer Smullen also weighed into the discussion, suggesting the shaking itself might not have been enough to clear the fluid from Robert's inner ear.
"But if somebody was startled, and yawned or yelled, sometimes that's enough to clear some fluid out from the ear drum," she said.
While getting his hearing back was great news, Robert had adjusted to his hearing loss with the help of a special microphone and a lesson in lip reading.
"The devices helped, but by the time I got them all hooked up, everyone had left and I was talking to myself," he added to ABC News.