Video Captures the Moment Deaf Baby’s Hearing Aid Turned On for the First Time, and It’s Amazing

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Louise and Paul Addison’s baby daughter was born almost entirely deaf. For the first six weeks of her life, baby Georgina was deprived of hearing the myriad sounds in the brand-new world around her.

That was until Georgina was fitted with hearing aids.

The uplifting moment that baby “Gigi” hears sound for the very first time each morning as her hearing aids are turned on was caught on camera by her mother one day. Now, Gigi’s squeals of delight are warming the hearts of millions of netizens around the world.

When the Addisons’ video begins, 4-month-old Gigi lies silently in her crib before her mother says, “Okay, so we’ve just turned your hearing on. Can you say hello to everybody?”

It’s then that the heart-melting magic happens. Gigi grins and squeals a high-pitched greeting of her own. She turns her head from side to side, taking in the many sounds of the room, affording viewers a glimpse at her life-changing hearing aids in the process.

Speaking to ITV, Paul described his daughter’s reaction to having her hearing aids turned on as “chirpy and cheery,” explaining that the phenomenon is particularly poignant for him, as he is hearing-impaired in his left ear himself.

The Addisons, from Harrogate in England, shared the moving footage of their baby girl on social media. Paul uploaded the clip of Gigi’s happy squeals on Twitter on Dec. 5, 2019, captioned: “When our daughter’s new hearing aids are turned on in the morning.” It quickly went viral, surpassing 150,000 views in under 24 hours.

“That is the most wonderful thing I’ve seen in a long time,” one Twitter user responded. “Absolutely adorable.”

“When we’re surrounded by bad things happening in the world it’s nice to be reminded of the joy that can also be brought by human beings,” wrote another. “Amazing video.”

Many parents wrote to Paul commenting on similarly moving experiences with their own hearing-impaired children.

Paul told CNN that he and his wife, Louise, first learned of Gigi’s hearing difficulties when she failed her newborn hearing test. Gigi was referred to an audiologist; her diagnosis of “severe deafness” was devastating to her parents, but doctors suggested that hearing aids were a viable option.

Gigi was fitted with hearing aids by England’s National Health Service in early November 2019. “It was a relief, we saw quite quickly that they were working well,” said Paul, explaining that Gigi’s hearing aids gave himself and Louise a “real sense that things could get better.”

“Every morning when we put them in after she’s obviously had them out that night we get an amazing reaction,” Louise said in an interview with the BBC, posted on Twitter, “so that was just one of the mornings.

“It turns on and she thinks, ‘Oh I can hear myself.’”

“I think before, she was less attentive, less focused,” Paul continued. “She clearly wasn’t reacting or responding to sound. But once we had them in, we put them in in the morning, you do notice a remarkable difference I have to say, and that is the essence of the video really.”

Paul described the social media response to Gigi’s video to CNN as “heartwarming.” He also advised: “Engage with those sorts of people [on social media], it’s such a huge comfort.”

While the Addisons have pledged to use sign language to help Gigi acquire communication skills, her ability to follow conversation using her new hearing aids will dramatically enrich the family’s lives together.

As for Gigi’s experience, her squeals of delight truly say it best.