Ayano is 12 years old and lives in Japan.

My name is Ayano. I am a 12-year-old girl who loves playing sports. I live in Saitama Prefecture, about an hour away from Tokyo in Japan. My parents are Junichi and Fusae and my younger sister is Mami, and my younger brother is Daisuke.

We have four seasons in Japan: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It is warm and comfortable in spring, while summer is so hot and humid that you think you might die! In autumn you can hear insects singing and feel a soft breeze. I grew up enjoying every season, even cold winter!

Just before I turned one, my mother found it strange that I didn’t respond when she called to me from behind. So she took me to a doctor. To her surprise, the doctor told her I was deaf, but did not know why. I cannot imagine how shocking it was to my parents.
I have now been wearing a hearing aid since I was 20 months old.

I didn’t like the first hearing aid I wore when I was younger. I hid it once in a cup at my grandma’s house in Gunma, hoping it would be lost, but mother asked grandma to look for it. Unfortunately, she found it and I was very disappointed. However, I couldn’t tell the truth to my mother at that time. This is the first time I talked about it. But I am happy that grandma found the hearing aid, because if she had not, I wouldn’t be “me” now!

My new hearing aid is like my friend. If I want to hear a sound, it helps me hear. As a little child, I didn’t like wearing a hearing aid, so I often took it off. However, now I feel uncomfortable without it. Recently I started to be able to hear my friend calling my name. I was very happy when I first heard it. It was almost like, “Please say my name again!”

Sometimes we listen to a tape in Japanese class. I can follow the text when I open my book and listen to the tape. I am pretty amazed! I sometimes think, “This hearing aid is so good, I feel like I am a whole different person!”

I am very happy, even though I cannot hear so well. My dream is to be on TV shows and
I hope you will see me on TV someday!

I want to tell everyone that hearing aids are good for you. I thank people who make hearing aids. Thank you!