The singer had complained of hearing ringing in his left ear since May this year, but brushed it off thinking that it was due to a buildup of ear wax in his ears. He then visited a clinic for ear wax removal, but his condition did not improve even after that.
The 37-year-old started to experience worse symptoms such as an inability to hear notes that are too high or low, and he also complained that people’s voices “sounded like robots talking”.
Kenji only found out about his condition after the ‘golden period’ of two weeks for treatment had passed and is now left with 60% of his hearing in his left ear. He was said to have lost his hearing due to work-related stress because he had been busy preparing for the launch of his new album, Humorous Life, and his self-directed movie, which caused him to suffer from insomnia for a period of time.
Although the singer is not required to wear a hearing aid, his condition is incurable and he will not be able to regain any of his hearing.
In response to the matter, Kenji’s management company said: “He (Kenji) had experienced an incident in life, which led to Humorous Life. He feels that Heaven is playing a joke on him but he has come to understand that not everything in life is smooth-sailing. Kenji is not consuming any medicine currently and is keeping a relaxed mind for better sleep”.