Ayumi Hamasaki is slowly turning completely deaf

It's long been known that Ayumi Hamasaki had lost hearing in one of her ears, however things have taken a turn for the worse, with her Doctors concerned that she may eventually become completely deaf.

Ayu had broken the sad news in the following message, posted on her official fan club.

Just before this year's tour began I received a second blow – my hearing started to deteriorate further. My semicircular canals had blown, and I was experiencing crippling dizziness. I wasn’t able to walk in a straight line, and was often reduced to vomiting in the restroom at the rehearsal studio. I tried to put a brace face on things, but was told after various hearing tests that my right ear (which had been working overtime to compensate for my deaf left ear) was weakening fast. I don’t have a clear memory of my journey home after that. I just remember wondering how I, as a singer, would cope with two useless ears. Other than that, I was in darkness.

Damn.

Fans and haters alike have been calling for Ayu to take a seat, but now she really is gonna have to now.

Ayu has had issues with her ears for almost 20 years, dating as far back as 2000 when she first encountered problems, which culminated in her losing hearing completely in her left ear. Ayu had been constantly advised to take rest and slow down her gruelling tour schedule. However, she refused and continued to tour, full throttle. Ayu gave her reasons for this...

The stage is where I belong. It’s the only place I really, truly exist. I don’t know anything else. There’s no point in worrying about what lies ahead. I will keep listening, even if I can’t hear. I will keep moving, evening if I can’t move. I’m not looking for sympathy or pity. I will hold my head high and keep going forward until my last breath.

I'm left with mixed feelings. On one hand it's completely understandable why Ayu would want to just plough ahead, because her career is everything to her. It's all she knows, it's who she is and therefore she wants to just continue whilst she can. She has one chance to do what she wants and that's what she's chosen. But on the other hand, this tenacity is also the one thing which has caused Ayu's hearing to turn to shit and has left her in this state. Slowing things down earlier on could have saved her hearing. By the early 2000s, Ayu had already cemented herself as one of J-Pop biggest stars and had nothing to prove. She was in more than a position to slow down. But her reluctance to do so not only caused a decline in her popularity and her sales, but most importantly, it's affected her health irreversibly - so she's limited the clock on her career anyway.

What Ayu does from here on out is going to be crucial. The wisest decision would be for her to scale back on the tours completely. It'd be a hard adjustment for her, but the alternative is that she burns herself and her hearing out and she's left with no option but to not perform live indefinitely. Rendering her in no state to even just put out music.

Watch Kumi Koda catch a spot in a Beats commercial, just to spite a bitch.