I've Always Wanted to Whisper

There is something I have always been bad at, felt frustrated by, and given up on.

In a classroom where only the teacher's voice echoed, I wanted to talk secretly with the child next to me.

"Did you see the TV show last night?"

"I did, I did. I couldn't finish my homework, but I guess that's okay."

"Me too."

I wanted to have such silly, secret conversations.

In a sophisticated restaurant, I wanted to whisper words of love to a woman.

"I've been meaning to tell you for a while now."

"What is it?"

"Your laughter... I love it."

I wanted to whisper such youthful, romantic words.

In a quiet office, I didn't want to say this to a subordinate who came to my desk and lowered their voice to ask for advice.

"Sorry, I can't hear you."

I didn't want to say such cold-sounding words.

I have always wanted to whisper in a quiet place.

However, I cannot hear small voices.
Whispering was a dream within a dream.

I am now wearing Sharp's hearing aid, the Medical Listening Plug, and I lead a team of dozens as a sales manager at a Sharp group company.

My level of hearing loss is somewhere between mild and moderate, making it difficult to hear conversations in small voices, and I sometimes feel inconvenienced by normal-volume conversations depending on how the person speaks or the surrounding noise.

However, I had never used a hearing aid before.

My hometown is in the northern part of Kyoto Prefecture.
If you drive a little, you can see the Sea of Japan and arrive at Amanohashidate, which is said to be one of the three most scenic spots in Japan.

I was born and raised in a small town where rice fields spread out at the foot of the mountains.
It is a silk weaving region, and in the past, you could hear the sound of looms weaving from all over the village.
When autumn came, portable shrines would parade through the streets during the shrine festival, and all the children would get restless.

It was when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school.

When I was playing around with my older brother, diving into the bath, I ended up getting otitis media in both ears.

I got it, but I was so passionate about youth baseball that I kept quiet to my parents about my ears still hurting and went to play in baseball games.

But it still hurt.
I finally gave up and cried to them.

"Mom, the inside of my ear hurts."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!"

Naturally, I was scolded.

When I went to the local doctor,

"Hmm. I don't think this is very good, so please go to a hospital in the big city."

the doctor said with a grimace.

At the hospital in the big city that we finally reached after crossing the mountains, my parent and I were scolded with great intensity.

"Why didn't you come sooner!"

"Because you didn't properly remove the water that had accumulated in your ear, the nerves in your ear have become a bit damaged. It likely won't get any better than this..."

I had a detailed examination after I became a junior high student, but it was no use after all.

That is why I have had difficulty hearing since I was in the fifth grade of elementary school.

However, I was surprisingly okay with it.

I don't have many memories of being "troubled."

My friends were kind. When someone spoke to me, they would immediately interject from the side.

"Akira can't hear, so you have to say it louder!"

Akira is me.

When Akira realized I couldn't hear, he would tell me like an interpreter.

"They said they brought sake for your dad. Can you carry a one-liter bottle home? That's what they said."

I wasn't bullied by the neighborhood ringleader, but I was often mocked by kids I didn't get along with.

Those kinds of people would bark behind the house.

"Akira can't hear us anyway."

"You're an idiot!"

Why is it that even when it's hard to hear normally, insults always come through clearly?

I didn't have much trouble with school classes either.

Teacher!

"I've been having trouble hearing, so please let me sit in the front!"

From then on, the front row of the classroom was usually my assigned seat.

I remember now. In junior high and high school, I was bad at English.
A 2 out of 5 was the best I could do.
I'd like to think I could have gotten a 3 if it were just writing, but listening was completely impossible.

Teacher!

I'm not going abroad, so it's fine.

You idiot! That's not what I meant.

The teacher was right.

The Sharp Group's promotion exam includes the TOEIC, but I couldn't reach the passing score at all. In the past, there was a relief measure that allowed other exams, and I managed to get promoted, but it took me four years.

Young Akira, who never imagined he would face such a terrifying experience as an adult, was as obsessed with sports as ever.

I became the vice-captain of my youth baseball team, the captain of my junior high soccer team, and the vice-captain of my high school tennis team. Even when I said, 'I can't do it properly because I have trouble hearing,' for some reason, I was always given some kind of role.

Well, I spent my youth happily like this, but then the time came to enter university...

Failing the entrance exam

My family wasn't that wealthy, so we couldn't afford for me to spend a year as a ronin.
My older brother was attending a five-year night course at university at the time.
He was a tough guy who graduated while working as a newspaper delivery boy without receiving a single yen from home.

I didn't have the confidence to continue delivering newspapers for years.

Maybe I should just get a job...

"You know, with your personality, Akira, I don't think you'll last four years delivering newspapers,
but maybe you could do two? You should think about a vocational school, too."

"...I understand."

I saved up for my tuition with part-time jobs, became a newspaper scholarship student, and attended a bookkeeping vocational school. I woke up at 3:30 every morning to deliver the morning paper, and even in the middle of class, I would leave school at 3:00 PM to deliver the evening paper.
Looking back, this was the hardest time of my life.

The vocational school classroom was a large lecture hall that held 60 or 70 people.
I raised my hand here, too.

Teacher!

"I have trouble hearing, so please let me sit in the front row. Besides, since I have to leave early, the front is better for me."

Perhaps because he saw potential in me, when it came time for job hunting, I took an employment exam for an office equipment manufacturer through a school recommendation.
Out of 200 applicants, only five passed.
I made it to the final ten, but I wasn't strong enough, and my cherry blossoms fell.

The teacher patted me on the shoulder and said, "You got pretty close," then continued, "If you like electrical systems..."

there's Sharp, you know?

To be precise, it was a Sharp group company where I am now, and at the time, the business mainly focused on office equipment maintenance and the sale of consumables.
"Do you want to try for it? I'll recommend you," he encouraged me, and I took on the employment exam once again.

I had already decided on the first words I would say in the interview.

“I have some hearing loss, so I might ask you to repeat yourself!”

Fortunately, the interviewer spoke in a loud voice, which is why I have such a great impression of Sharp (and its group companies).

I was successfully hired and joined the company intending to work in accounting in Osaka, but when I opened the lid...

I was assigned to sales.
Moreover, I was the first new graduate hired for sales.

My post was in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture.
My jurisdiction covered all four prefectures of Shikoku.
And I was the first sales representative to be stationed in Shikoku.

In other words, in the vast land of Shikoku,
I was the only salesperson, and a rookie at that.

Since this was decades ago, please read this with half-closed eyes as if it were a story from the Stone Age, but the work was intense.

During the day I did sales, and at night I helped with equipment repairs until late.

The sales methods would probably surprise young people today.
First, I was handed a paper map.
I would tape together photocopies of it to make a large map.
Once I was ready, someone from the company gave me a lecture on how to do sales.

“To get from Kagawa Prefecture to Ehime Prefecture, there’s a road called National Route 11. If you follow Route 11 all the way, you’ll find office equipment stores and electronics shops here, here, and here. Go there, hand them your business card, and make your pitch.”

It was an unreasonable request to say the least, but since it was the Stone Age, I loaded my car with office equipment catalogs and drove all over Shikoku.
After going to Ehime and returning, I’d go to Tokushima next, then Kochi.
There were days when I drove 600 kilometers along deep mountain roads and coastal paths.

If a client in Kochi asked me to 'come at 8:00 AM,' I had to leave Takamatsu at 3:00 or 4:00 AM, before dawn, to make it in time.
Back then, there were no expressways, so I would just keep driving alone along the national highway in the morning glow.

There were many dialects in Shikoku that I didn't understand.
Even so, I figured as long as I could clearly hear the key points of the work, it would be fine, so I thoroughly adopted one habit.

Always write down what is said

I made sure to write down everything the client told me in my notebook.

When a business meeting ended, I always asked, 'Is it correct that what I heard today is this and this?'

Product names, sizes, quantities... it would be a big deal if I got any of those wrong.
When I still felt uneasy even after taking notes, I would call the next day to double-check, asking, 'Is it correct that what I heard yesterday was this?'

Compared to face-to-face, phone calls are easier because I can turn up the volume.
Now there are online meetings too, and I can use headphones, which makes it easier to hear.

I have had failures, too.

When I was taking a monochrome copier I had arranged to a client's place,
'Wait, was that client's machine a monochrome one? Wasn't it a color machine?'
I felt anxious and checked, and sure enough, the order was for a color machine.
I had misheard the product number.

I apologized and had the delivery date pushed back by a week, but hearing product numbers correctly is difficult, especially when only the last digit is different.

Since PC email became widespread, mistakes have decreased.
I would write in my notebook during the business meeting, and on that day or the next, I would always send an email saying,
'The things you asked about are this and this, right? I will provide an answer by such-and-such date.'

I still keep up the habit of writing in a notebook, and even though I fill it with tiny handwriting, I end up buying two or three new ones every year.

My days in Shikoku passed like this, and after I was transferred and promoted, I had more opportunities to attend meetings.

Meetings were a hurdle.

Not everyone who attends speaks in a loud voice.
The more people there are, the further apart the seats are.
I also feel hesitant to ask, 'Could you say that one more time?'

So, what do I do?

I write it in my notebook and check it afterwards.

If I missed one or two things, I would ask the person next to me, and if it was more than that, I would have the person in charge of the minutes tell me after the meeting.

Large gatherings were a nightmare

Meetings and social gatherings held in large venues are also difficult.
Even when important people speak into a microphone, the sound from the speakers is distorted or too quiet, so I can't hear what they are saying at all.

I'm also not good at noisy conversations.
I want to hear the voice of the person in front of me, but I can't focus on it, and the background noise of the venue enters my ears just the same.
People with normal hearing can unconsciously select the voice of the person they are talking to even in noisy environments.
It seems to be called the cocktail party effect, which is a very apt description.

There were many inconveniences, but the hardest part was definitely not being able to whisper in quiet places.

In a hushed office

In a place where everyone is focused on their work, people usually keep their voices down, but whispering is not easy for me.

My desk as the sales manager is a bit off to the side.
Sometimes, my subordinates come over to consult with me.
In a low, whispering voice.

Only after leaving the hushed office can I finally ask, "What's wrong?"
My subordinates can also speak at a normal volume.
Even so, it was painful and I felt sorry for making them go through the trouble.

Even on dates when I was younger

Whether we went to see a movie or out for drinks, I couldn't whisper, so it was hard to create a romantic, intimate atmosphere.
I am aware that I have a bright, clear, and energetic way of speaking, but love also requires sweet whispers.

That's why I used to tell women even before we started dating.

“Even if we go somewhere with a nice atmosphere, we can't whisper, can we?”

If we could lean in close and whisper to each other while watching the trailers at the beginning of a movie, saying, “Let's watch this one next,” it might annoy the people around us, but that’s part of the thrill of a date.

In my case, I end up cupping my hand to my ear and asking, “Sorry, I can’t quite hear you.”
I’m just not a person who creates a mood.

However, there was one woman who didn't care about that at all.

It was my wife.

It was a Friday night, eight years after we had met in Shikoku, dated, broken up, and hadn't seen each other since.

I was having a great time at a mixer with some nurses.
But the next day, Saturday, was the company retreat, and as the organizer, I had to meet up early in the morning.

So, at midnight, as the last train was approaching, I told everyone, “I’m heading home first!” and just as I left the izakaya,

I ran right into her as she was coming out of a karaoke bar in the same building!

The friend she was with was the one who noticed me.

That’s how we reunited after eight years, and six months later, she became my wife, and she is still by my side today.

She understands my hearing loss well and helps me out.
When my four children were small, I was constantly dragged into participating in PTA events, but I couldn't tell everyone I met, 'I have trouble hearing.'

Whenever someone said something, my wife would tell me what it was from the side.

Those peaceful (?) days changed drastically at one point.

Masks and acrylic boards become part of daily life

Everyone started wearing masks, andit became truly, truly difficult to hear voices.

At work, too, transparent acrylic boards stood in the way like walls.
Depending on the company I was visiting, large boards were set up across the entire table, making voices muffled and hard to hear.
I was at my wit's end.

Troubled by how hard it was to hear, I consulted my wife, saying, 'Maybe I should buy a hearing aid...' She said, 'Why don't we go take a look?' so we headed to an eyewear store that sold hearing aids.

'Hello. I'm thinking about using a hearing aid...'

'There are many types, but these in-the-ear hearing aids around here cost about 600,000 to 800,000 yen for a pair.'

'What?!''

'Well, these behind-the-ear models are cheaper and less likely to get lost, you know?'

'I wear glasses all the time. Wear glasses, wear a mask, and wear a hearing aid? Three things on my ears? That's not going to work...'

Even after returning home, I couldn't make up my mind, thinking that behind-the-ear models are noticeable, maybe I should go with in-the-ear, but they're so expensive.

I think it was right around that time.

I heard that Sharp was going to make a new hearing aid.

An internal survey regarding its development was circulated. Since they were also looking for product monitors, I wrote down "I'll help!" and sent it in, and I was happy when I received a request for my participation afterward.

There was one other person in my department who was hard of hearing, so I invited them, saying,
"Let's be monitors together. Then, the two of us can give our feedback and help create Sharp's hearing aid!"

A while later, a prototype of the "Medical Listening Plug" was sent to us.

First, I had to put on the hearing aid and perform a hearing check using a smartphone app.
I think it was late on a weekend night, but I listened to various sound patterns, answered the questions, and sent the data.

Then, about the next day, data adjusted by a fitter based on the results of the hearing test was sent to the app, so I registered it to the device.
The preparation was complete.

Oscillating between a little nervousness and great expectations, I put the hearing aid in my ear.

It had been decades since I became hard of hearing in the fifth grade of elementary school.
I was surprised.

I never realized there were so many sounds around me.

The ventilation fan was spinning with a whoosh sound.

The refrigerator was humming loudly.

The microwave dinged with a high-pitched sound.

The thermometer beeped to signal that the temperature reading was complete.

Even the sound of children opening and closing the door made me jump.

Suddenly, sounds were overflowing all around me.

I also tried using it early in the morning at the office before anyone else had arrived.

I hadn't noticed it at all before, but a sound like wind noise was constantly playing.
Could it be the air conditioning?
I also feel like there's a metallic sound mixed in.
I'm sure these are high-frequency sounds I couldn't hear before that I can now hear with my hearing aid.

I discussed my concerns via chat

I consulted with my fitter about the wind noise via the app's chat.
After they adjusted the settings data, the sound gradually disappeared.

When a pen fell onto the desk with a clatter, the sound from the hearing aid would sometimes cut out for a moment.
The same thing happened when I was clattering around setting up equipment for an online meeting or slamming a door shut.

When I consulted them, they told me that "the impulse noise suppression is working depending on the usage scenario," and after they adjusted it, this was also improved.

"Medical Listening Plug" purchasers will surely struggle at first, just like I did as a hearing aid beginner, thinking, "This isn't what I expected".

But as you adjust it, it gradually changes to the sound you prefer.
It is definitely better to tell the fitter everything you are concerned about, ask every question even if you think it might be too trivial, and have it changed to your liking.

After all, since you paid for it, you want to get your money's worth, right?

I also bought it with my own money.

When I had been monitoring it for about two months, I heard from the representative that the "Medical Listening Plug" would be released in September 2021, and I immediately replied, "Then I'll be the first to buy it!"
I actually said it!

After all, I am a Sharp group employee, and normally there would be an employee discount, but it was too early and the discount hadn't been set up yet!

The "first" that flew out of my mouth wasn't coming back.

So I bought it at the list price.

At the suggested retail price of 99,800 yen, tax-exempt.

Plus, I added a care plan for 33,000 yen including tax, which covers breakdowns and loss up to a certain amount.

The chat consultation I mentioned earlier was also an interaction after purchase.

Can you understand how seriously I adjusted the "Medical Listening Plug" to get my money's worth, and how much my feelings are in sync with the general public who purchase it at the suggested retail price?

I also did the training seriously.

Because I had to get my money's worth.

The app includes "hearing training."

There are various menus, and the first one, right after purchase, is "Let's listen to your own voice."
It's true that when you wear a hearing aid and speak, your own voice sounds quieter.
At first, I couldn't get used to it at all.

From there, as you clear the training step-by-step, such as "Let's have a one-on-one conversation" and "Let's listen to the TV sound," your ears gradually get used to it.

You rate the results of the training yourself on a 5-point scale.
I wanted to get more used to "meetings" at work, so I initially gave it a rating of 3, and after having the settings data adjusted and feeling satisfied, I gave it a 5.

The training keeps throwing balls at you, not just conversations and everyday sounds, but asking: How about the park? How about shopping? How about cars and trains? How about lectures and watching movies?
It's okay, I've been friends with the ball since I was a child.

This is interesting; when you act according to the menu, perhaps because you focus your consciousness on the situation at hand, you realize that you have become able to hear various sounds.

One day, I went shopping with my wife.

As we were going up the escalator in the building, there were high school students behind us, andto my surprise, I could hear their conversation.

Until now, I couldn't hear other people's conversations at all.
After putting on my hearing aids, I was deeply impressed, thinking things like, 'Oh, so this is what high schoolers' love talk sounds like. Hey, you should break up with a boyfriend like that. Your father won't allow it,' or 'Wow, there are so many words in the world that I can actually hear.'

When I first started wearing them, I wondered, 'Huh? Are these sounds supposed to be this distracting?' but after adjusting the settings, the bothersome sounds subsided. My ears got used to them through training, and since I can also adjust the volume and sound quality via the app, I feel like the hearing aids have become more comfortable the more I use them.

Furthermore, there is a 'Scene Selection' feature where you can have 10 sets of settings created to match your usage environment.
You can register up to four on the device itself, and I have registered 'Standard,' 'Meeting (Small Group),' 'Conference (Large Group),' and 'Living Room.'

I can't let go of them now.

The way I hear sound has changed significantly.
It depends on the degree of hearing loss, so there will be individual differences.
Even so, I can no longer part with my Medical Listening Plug.

The sense of security is different when I have them versus when I don't

I am now able to have conversations smoothly.
I ask people to repeat themselves less often.
I don't have to ask people to 'please speak louder,' as I can control the volume myself.
I am grateful.
I am truly grateful.

They are especially convenient during meetings.

The silver part of the hearing aid body is a touch sensor, and you can adjust the volume by tapping it with your finger.
Tap twice to increase the volume, and tap once to decrease it.
If you operate either the left or right side, it is reflected on both.

If I think the voice of the person on my 'left' is too quiet during a meeting, I tap the 'right' side, which is on the opposite side, so they can't see me doing it.

When the person on the "right" is too loud, I tap the "left" side.

To an observer, it probably just looks like I'm touching my ear or cheek.

It can also be controlled via an app, so if I'm in a situation where using a smartphone isn't frowned upon, I can adjust it while looking at the screen.

I always wear it during business meetings too

Previously, when meeting someone for the first time, I would start by saying, "I have some hearing difficulty, so please excuse me if I have to ask you to repeat yourself," but now it's a little different.

"I have some hearing difficulty, so I'll be wearing these medical listening plugs while we talk."

"What are those? Are they earphones?"

Sometimes a colleague who did the product monitoring with me accompanies me to business meetings.
He also bought and uses the "medical listening plugs," so
"Mr. Sharp, what is that? Is it a company trend?"
is something we are sometimes asked.
That's not it.

Now, the conversation from here on might sound like a sales pitch, but I wasn't asked by Sharp to "sell it," it's just ice-breaking chatter to share my and my colleague's personal experiences.
Since we both love using them, we tend to get a bit enthusiastic.

One client even said,
"My parent uses hearing aids too. The annoying part is changing the batteries. I do it for them, but the batteries are so small that they drop them easily. Just not having to change batteries is a big plus, isn't it?"

I remember hearing that at the eyewear store where I was once surprised by the price of hearing aids.
Depending on the product and usage time, hearing aid batteries apparently need to be replaced every one to three weeks.

There are several people who purchased them after hearing our story and became fellow "Medical Listening Plug" users.

Many people also ask, "Are you able to use them well?" when we meet next.

"Of course!"

Whispering is fine now, too.

I often take my hearing aids off when I'm at my desk, but if a subordinate looks like they want to speak in a low voice, I take the hearing aids out of the case, put them on, and in some cases, press the sensor to switch modes.

That takes only about 10 seconds.

I no longer have to go out of my way to get up from my seat and move to the corner of the room or the cafeteria.

To be honest, I was skeptical when I applied to be a product monitor.

Can it really be fitted to suit me remotely?

Is it really okay for a medical device to cost just under 100,000 yen?

Now, I am a devoted user.

Even if I weren't working and only used them when watching TV at home or talking with my family, I would have felt they were worth buying.

In fact, my family is in a much better mood when I wear my hearing aids during conversations.

My wife is very happy. My children are happy too

I also try to use them as much as possible when I go shopping with my wife.

"You went to the trouble of buying them, but you don't use them much when you're with me. Why don't you wear them more to get used to them?"
my wife encourages me.

I'm sure talking in a loud voice is exhausting in many ways.
My mother and my wife's mother have also reached an age where it's harder for them to project their voices.
They try hard to speak loudly when talking to me, but now
"It's okay to speak in a small voice"
I can tell them.

I've started listening to music again

When I lived in Shikoku, I was alone while driving, so I would load a boombox into my commercial van, which only had a radio, and in the MD era, I would load a mini-component system and listen to music at high volume.

Since then, I had drifted away from music.

Since I started using the "Medical Listening Plug", I have regained the joy of listening to music again.
I listen to nostalgic songs, and I even listen to the recent songs my daughter ordered me to "listen to this."

I can also hear the music playing in the city much better now.

If I listen closely, I can even faintly hear the chirping of birds and the sounds of insects.

I see. That's right.

I can hear them now.

I can even go to quiet places.

From now on, my wife and I will go out to quiet places together.

A quiet art museum, a quiet temple, or a quiet resort hotel would be fine.

The restaurants we tried so hard to fit into when we were young now suit us perfectly at our age.

Somewhere quiet

I want to have those whispered conversations I was always bad at, frustrated by, and had given up on

with my wife, who has always been by my side.

I wonder if my wife will go along with such a dream of mine.

Tonight, I'll ask her softly and quietly.

● We are holding free trial consultation sessions.
If you are concerned about your hearing, please take this opportunity to try them out.

● The product page for Medical Listening Plug ishere

● We have started a new initiative with Aogashima Village, Tokyo
Conducting awareness activities to promote early use of hearing aids

Click here for previous articles

The sequel has also been released! Please take a look.