When the star of “The Incredible Hulk,” Lou Ferrigno, was a toddler, he had a lot of ear infections that caused him to lose much of his hearing. However, he recently got a cochlear implant and was hearing some sounds for the first time in his life. He said that it was like “a wake-up call.” Since dealing with hearing loss for most of his life because of nerve damage caused to his ears as a child, he says it’s like “a dream come true” to be able to hear. Throughout his life, he has worn hearing aids and even attended lip-reading classes to help him learn how to read lips.
He explains that it has been an “uphill battle” because when you suffer from severe hearing loss, it affects not just your hearing, but also your speech. In short, he said, it “affects everything.” Because of his hearing problems and speech impediment, Lou was bullied as a child. Because of this, he read a lot of superhero books like “The Incredible Hulk” and “Spiderman.” He says that he was “obsessed with power” and wanted to be strong enough to defend himself. This led him to pursue bodybuilding and it changed his life. He says that it gave him “drive and determination.”
Incredible Hulk is trending. I've enjoyed the new Hulk but @LouFerrigno will always be the Hulk I grew up with. pic.twitter.com/hBWrrOKt63
— TheManNamedBambi (@mannamedbambi) May 18, 2021
He knew that bodybuilding was his way to be successful because if he hadn’t discovered that, he would have felt sorry for himself and perhaps even resorted to drugs. He says it’s all about taking action. After training with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1970s, their rivalry resulted in Lou being cast as “The Incredible Hulk.” He already had three children, so it took some effort to keep up with the work on the set. Because he had to constantly read lips, he had to pay special attention, he explains. It was when he saw a friend get the cochlear implant that he decided to go for it.
Incredible Hulk’s Lou Ferrigno Is Fixing His Lifelong Hearing Problem: ‘A Dream Come True’ https://t.co/nl075lw0I0
— People (@people) May 20, 2021
Lou was terrified of the surgery because anything going wrong could have resulted in him losing the little hearing that he did have. When he finally got the implant activated, it was very emotional for the big guy. Watch the video below.