After four long years, a boy born with hearing loss was finally able to hear his parents’ voices and his own laughter properly for the first time, and his response did not disappoint. Soon after welcoming her son Titan in 2021, Kaitlynn Johnson was informed of problems with his hearing. He was subsequently diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, meaning he was only able to detect around 30 percent of what a healthy person can hear.
There were a lot of unknowns when Titan was diagnosed. Johnson, 30, of Florida, told Newsweek that she “had no idea what his life would look like.” Nonetheless, she and her husband knew they would do everything possible to help their son have the “best life possible.” Titan faced many challenges in the first four years of his life, as hearing loss significantly impacted his speech and development. His speech was affected due to him not being able to hear for four years.” However, in October 2025, everything changed for Titan.
He finally got hearing aids fitted, and Johnson captured a video of the moment they were switched on. At the time, the audiologist initially lowered the volume on the hearing aids to avoid suddenly overwhelming Titan. As soon as they were switched on, Johnson asked her son if he could hear anything, and his joyful laughter was all the answer she needed.
We were overwhelmed with joy knowing he would be able to hear at full capacity now. But it was also the emotions of how different his life would look as a kid wearing hearing aids,” Johnson said. Titan continued to “giggle hysterically” as he took in all the new sounds that his hearing aids enabled him to hear.
For the first time, Titan was able to hear his parents’ voices, their laughter and his own laughter clearly. Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is a condition in which hearing is reduced in both ears due to damage or abnormalities in the inner ear or auditory nerve pathways. It is the most common type of permanent hearing loss in children and can range from mild to profound.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 6,000 infants born in 2022 were identified with permanent hearing loss. The CDC notes that hearing loss affects approximately one to two infants per 1,000 births in the U.S. Children learn to speak by listening to those around them, so hearing loss can significantly affect speech, language acquisition and development, audiologist Kira Savin told Newsweek.
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