Ayumi goes Deaf in one ear.

[Yukito Kunisaki]

Japanese pop princess Ayumi Hamasaki has revealed she has gone deaf in her left ear, but has vowed to continue her JPop career and go ahead with an upcoming tour of Asia.

The 29-year old, who is Japan's top-selling singer with 28 number-one hits and nearly 50 million albums sold, wrote on her personal blog that her left ear "doesn't work anymore" and that it was inoperable.

Hamasaki, better known as "Ayu" to her huge following of JPop fans in Japan and the rest of Asia, is believed to be suffering tinnitus, which involves a ringing in the ear that can be caused by constant exposure to sound.

http://www.jpop.com/home/p2_articleid/8

Sucks for her.

[kenshinbebop]

Don't know her, but that must suck as a musician.

[Tidusauron12]

Originally Posted by kenshinbebop

Don't know her, but that must suck as a musician.

Hey, if Beethoven could do it, I see NO reason why a pop singer who is only death in ONE EAR can't. She'll be fine. I just hope she doesn't ever have to sing to panned remixes (...even then it wouldn't really matter, I just decided to take a swing at it. The pinata didn't fall. ).

[kenshinbebop]

No yeah, she'll be fine, but it must suck as a musician to be deaf in one ear.
I'd almost die.

[Magami No ER]

Wow, she's actually an idol I've somtimes followed up on, since last summer....when I heard that she was the biggest thing since Namie Amuro.
This is surprising. o.o Good for her for sticking with her tour.

[Tidusauron12]

^Well it's not like it suddenly happened. She must've known about this for sometime before she went public with it. My guess is that she's accepted it by now.

[Yukito Kunisaki]

Originally Posted by kenshinbebop

Don't know her, but that must suck as a musician.

Well, she is known for the Dearest ending to Inuyasha, if you know it.



Yeah, it says even that she "revealed" that she has gone deaf in one ear....meaning she HAS known about it for some time.

[Hara!]

And nothing of value was lost.

Except for her hearing.

[Dr. Ezra]

That's too bad. I hope she continues to be successful, despite her partial hearing loss.

[HSaabedra]

I get treated for slight tinnitus in both ears, but for the most part it's lifelong. I have to wonder if her monitors were properly set when she performed. If they wern't then that could be the cause of her hearing loss.

[VidelCoolGirl]

That sucks. Duty is my favorite album of hers. Well, as long as she keeps going. I would be more upset though if Tomiko Van went deaf in one ear.

[Gibb]

Originally Posted by Videl

That sucks. Duty is my favorite album of hers. Well, as long as she keeps going. I would be more upset though if Tomiko Van went deaf in one ear.

Another Tomiko fan?

I'm such a huge DAI fan, but I've found her solo career to be pretty underwhelming so far. It's not terrible, but it's not super great either.

As for Ayu (i used the shortened form meaning i'm a fan), I've liked her pretty well over the years. Her "I Am" album is fantastic, and I still listen to it quite often. I'm also a big fan of her "HEAVEN" single which has one of the coolest music videos I've seen in a while.

I think she should take it easy for a little while. William Shatner had a similar problem where he heard ringing in his ears from being too close to loud explosions on Star Trek sets. I think it eventually went away once he got out of the spotlight for a couple years. Ayu puts out a new album every 6 months it seems (or a single of some sort), so she could probably stand to take a little time off.

[Soluzar]

Originally Posted by Gibb

I think she should take it easy for a little while. William Shatner had a similar problem where he heard ringing in his ears from being too close to loud explosions on Star Trek sets. I think it eventually went away once he got out of the spotlight for a couple years. Ayu puts out a new album every 6 months it seems (or a single of some sort), so she could probably stand to take a little time off.

Tinnitus does not clear up. It is caused by permanent damage to the ears, and will be with the sufferer for the rest of their life. In some cases varying your diet can reduce the severity of the condition, but it will always be there some of the time, at some level.

Originally Posted by HSaabedra

I get treated for slight tinnitus in both ears,

Elaborate. Please.

[HSaabedra]

Originally Posted by Soluzar

Tinnitus does not clear up. It is caused by permanent damage to the ears, and will be with the sufferer for the rest of their life. In some cases varying your diet can reduce the severity of the condition, but it will always be there some of the time, at some level.


Elaborate. Please.

Pink noise therapy. I go to an audiologist to get my ears cleaned and wear a headset being pumped with a 20khz pulse every month. Blockages were discovered in both ears after my first tour of Japan as a DJ in 2006 that aggravated my latent conbdition to the point where I wore earplugs daily.

[tenshi_a]

BTW for all of you thinking "tinnitus isn't deafness! what are they on about??", I read different details of her condition from another source:

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwa...dm005000c.html

Pushing 30, rivals circling, and now deaf in one ear: it's tough at the top for Ayu
Pop diva Ayumi Hamasaki confirmed earlier this month what her nastier critics have been saying about her tone for years -- she's deaf, at least in her left ear. And Sunday Mainichi (1/27) says the 29-year-old superstar's ailment isn't being helped by her increasing isolation in the music world.

Hamasaki used a special member's only blog she writes to reveal she'd lost her hearing.

"Actually, last year I had a hearing test that revealed my left ear doesn't work at all, and the doctor said there's no operation that can fix it," Sunday Mainichi quotes the songstress writing to her fans.

Hamasaki has actually known for years that her hearing was going bung, and has twice postponed national tours because of it.

Nonetheless, now her secret is out in the open, Hamasaki is determined to forge ahead with her plans to tour the country from April, but the disclosure of her deafness has also opened another can of worms for her.

"I read everything she wrote on her blog and it seems she kept the news all to herself, not telling her relatives or staff," entertainment beat journalist Yuji Watanabe says. "I think rather than the deafness itself, the bigger problem (for Hamasaki) is why she kept such a problem held so tightly in her heart."

Hamasaki has long known it's lonely at the top. She has almost single-handedly kept her record company Avex at the apex of the Japanese music world, but realized as the company's queen bee she can't afford to have a public perception of weakness. She only told two people of her hearing problems -- Tomoya Nagase, the boy band Tokio member and her longtime ex-boyfriend, and Mika Noguchi, the president of panty manufacturer Peach John.

Hamasaki's career is also not as sturdy as it once was. During her 10 years on the scene, her every album has come out at No. 1 on the charts in the week that it was released. But "Guilty," her latest offering that came out on New Year's Day, only reached No. 2, giving greater credence to suggestions that younger, flashier singers such as Kumi Koda and others of her ilk are about to usurp Hamasaki's title.

As for Hamasaki's actual condition, otological expert Tetsuro Ogata suspects she may have Meniere's disease.

"She's got either sudden deafness or Meniere's disease. Her hearing has become progressively worse over a number of examinations, so I think it's probably more likely to be Meniere's," Ogata tells Sunday Mainichi, noting that sudden deafness arises out of the blue and can be caused by such things as viruses or stress, while the condition also believed to have affected Beethoven starts with hearing difficulties and dizziness before progressing to hearing loss. (By Ryann Connell)