It was likely something she was pre-disposed to that was made worse by live shows. Tinnitus is something that is usually caused by either sudden loud noises or persistent loud noise, so yes, in that regard concerts/rehearsals are primarily to blame. It could also be Mineirs disease, but either way, constantly working in loud environments doesn't help matters.

^ Thanks for clearing it up for everyone.

I never suggested that Tinnitus/Miniers had no implication in Ayu's ear going deaf, but to hint that the on stage performances are not at all blameworthy, that's just cruel.

i think ayu has a chance to success...
if she still true to herself, i mean she still being a pop, rock and techno singer...not losing focus for becoming RnB or Hip Hop that i think is a mainstream of US song nowadays...
and i want her to still using a meaningful lyrics not just a random dirty and all about sex lyrics...
avex need to put a HUGE PROMOTION too and make sure that we can see her face everywhere...magz, tv, billboard, screen, etc... A REALLY HUGE PROMOTION... i think she has a chance...
its rare to hear someone sings rocks like she do now...and mix of techno and rock, its rare...its kinda ayu thing...
i think she really different and fresh for US...
although i must admit that it will be hard way...but its not that impossible
conclusion : its all about promotion, do it or not... ITS REALLY NEED TO BE AS HUGE AS IT CAN BE!!!

I hope she will NEVER switch to Europe or USA and NEVER release an English album.
That would be her BIGGEST mistake in whole carrier. But she's a wise WOMEN and I'm 99% sure that she will never do something like this.

EDIT: But focusing more on Asia - China would be wise IMO. Her sales in Asia are still great. Japan need to appreciate her more.

Yeah, well I think that mostly a deafness like Ayu's is slightly self inflincted, I'm sure her doctor made her well aware in 2000 that if she didn't cancel the Dome Tour that her ear wouldn't heal. I remember her stopping during the rehersals and complaining about a noise in her ear. It was actually kind of painful to watch...but yeah I think there was possibly a few steps Ayu could have taken, and didn't.

I prefer her to stay in Asia. just 2singles, an album, a tour each year and i will be satisfy ^^

If Ayu tours the US i will try to be at every show:)

Actually...

I wont belive anything until things are official cuz there are so many rumours out there. And I will never belive in something a chinese paper writes about (according to earlier failed storys)...

So for me, I will just wait and see. :)

I think that the doctors only talked about her leg and the risks that she was taking by performing with a sprained[?] leg..

But that's all I recall about the doctors in DT01. I don't believe they ever stated why her ear started to freak out during ct2000 and DT01. Watch the documentary that NTV did for further proof. (in ct2000, I remember that they thought it was a bad ear infection and canceled some shows in the 2nd leg)..

Info from the ROCKIN' ON JAPAN article from masa [AMAZING MASAAAA]:
And Meniere's is what I was hinting at. So many other artists do tours all the time, so why is it that Ayu is the one who loses hearing in ONE ear? You know what I'm getting at, right? The concerts had a small part in it, sure.. but the sole reason as to why she lost her hearing loss? I don't think so.

Sometimes diseases just strike people without any reason... there doesn't need to be a proper explanation for everything that happens to Ayu. It's just really unfortunate that for someone who has such burning passion for music and singing like Ayu would have something like this in the first place.

And such is life.

Don't do it. PLEASE don't do it.

I agree! But if she decides to do a world tour, I wouldn't object. Just as long as there's no English songs or Western debut! >:O

Hmm, I was going to say that there might be some truth to this if it appeared in Friday, but it doesn't seem like it really is.

I'm not sure what I would think if Ayumi was to try to break out in the US...

In the documentary, they don't state specifically what the doctors diagnose it as, but they do say that the doctors warned her that if she continues touring the damage it would cause to her ear would be irreparable.

Also, it is possible to lose hearing in one ear and not the other without it being disease related. I've experienced this myself when I was front row at a rock concert in a tiny venue - I had significant hearing loss/tinnitus for almost a week and one ear was way worse than the other. Or my step father who is a marine corps vet who lost hearing in only one of his ears due to the constant sound of bombs/gun fire - the other ear is totally fine. Its also quite common for people to get ear infections in the same ear over and over again, which I assume is probably how Ayu's left ear was growing up, making that ear far more susceptible to hearing damage than the other one.

I think the main question to ponder is, had she not become a singer, would she still have her hearing? I think the answer is probably yes.

Anyways, this is waaay off topic. :)

Perhaps. But then we wouldn't have been brought together and she wouldn't have had the happiness that she's gotten as a singer.

And yeah, when I was looking stuff up I realized that this was totally off topic and should probably be in another thread.. hm.. whatever. This should be moved to Ayu Chat anyway.

Honestly, I'm not too pessimistic about Ayu entering the US market. She has a very distinctive look and style so she's got a fighting chance. The thing about Hikki's style is that it's very similar to what's already available in the US while SM made the big mistake of auto-tuning out Boa on her album and I also think they mishandled her image.

If Ayu enters the US market, it will be on her own terms, not anyone else's. She will have almost full artistic control so I trust her decision.

That will be way to late. Why would Americans want to hear a 40 year old Japanese woman sing? If its her intention she might as well come now that she's still (considerably) young.

But please don't come ( :dead2 ).

Hell, I don't care about other Americans!

I want 40 year old Ayu to perform in my backyard/neighborhood park~ Sucks for people who don't wanna hear her, but I don't care. Haha.

Ok, so you're backing her for coming just to perform her Japanese music right? I'd like that too, but what I was referring to is her coming here to make original English language music ( :P ).