TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese pop princess Ayumi Hamasaki has revealed she has gone deaf in her left ear, but has vowed to continue her 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 blog that her left ear "doesn't work anymore" and that it was inoperable. She has known of her condition since going in for an ear check last year, according to her website. Hamasaki, better known as "Ayu" with a large fanbase in Asia, is believed to be suffering tinnitus, which involves a ringing in the ear that can be caused by constant exposure to sound. Tinnitus is the same condition that afflicted Ludwig van Beethoven, the famously deaf German composer. "Nevertheless, I would like to continue as a singer. That's why I would like to continue singing until I reach the limit with my remaining right ear," she said on the members-only fansite, as quoted by Japanese media. "I won't stop. I won't make excuses. As a professional, I would like to deliver the best performance for everyone," she wrote over the weekend. Her agency declined comment on her hearing, other than to say that she would go ahead with her second tour of Asia starting in April. "She will continue her activity as scheduled," said a spokesman for the agency, Avex. Hamasaki released her ninth album, "Guilty," on January 1. She is due to launch a tour on April 5 to mark her 10th anniversary as a performer. "It makes me cry to think that even if she's the only one who knows that she can't hear with her left ear, she has continued to sing and showed us her smiling face. That's what I love about Ayumi Hamasaki," wrote a fan on a webpage. Hamasaki performed last month on the widely watched annual New Year's Eve television song contest broadcast by public network NHK. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hNw4Md-JdCu6y2e8xsEGld1O41xg
tinnitus... oh shit I think I might have that!!! seriously... sometimes I get a ringing in my left ear also.. ;
Me too -.- bahahha...Ecko is going deaf...lol... ehhem...back on topic... WAHHHHHHHHHHH AYU!!!! I HOPE SHE NEVER GIVES UP..EVEN THO ITS UNCURABLE... BUT ILL STILL LIKE HER... :(
hahah yea but you're going deaf at an even younger age!! stop lying.. you ain't got tinnitus.. you ain't coo! -cool2
^ you put the wrong one in the wrong ear...like the left phone in the right..ya know whut i mean... coz i never knew there was a lefty and righty..i used to just put them in....>.< but yeh....so sad ayumi...but i 10port you still...~~~
sigh.......pplz sacrifices for their jobs. Every jobs here and there are dangerous. i remember like a year and a half ago, i almost got my pinky chop off by the radiator fan while working under the hood of a car. (forgot to pull the negative battery cable out). i really pity her. Being deaf is like permanent and still, for the fan's sake or maybe her sake, she's still singing and work in the entertainment.
not a big fan of ayumi...but yeah sad to hear....man...what if she becomes deaf on both her ears... other artists should learn from this and wear protection for their ears or somethin =/?
wahhh how sad!! it's ok, she can be like beethoven!! well hopefully without all the hardships, just the 'deaf but great' part .. heh heh
no.. but it will be less strenuous for my left ear..oh i dunno.. jus happens sometime when I hear a bit of loud noise.. it seems like my left ear automatically goes deaf while my right ear has no problem with the noise..
maybe u should just turn down the volume of ur headphones a little or when and if u go clubbing dont stand too close to the loud speakers
oh no! It's so sad! I still have the first single I bought of her's (You) in prime condition. I hope her right ear stays healthy and that she can protect it somehow.
But tinnitus is not deafness...so is she deaf or does she merely have tinnitus? But anyway, it's annoying to be having tinnitus. Glad to see her coping well with it
