Hearing Loss Isn't Just for the Elderly — Experience the Difficulty of Hearing in Meetings and Phone Calls for the Working Generation

The new fiscal year is a time when human relationships and work processes change due to transfers and new team formations, leading to an increase in meetings and phone calls. During such times, you might experience small discomforts like "having to ask people to repeat themselves more than before," "difficulty catching proper nouns or numbers on the phone," or "feeling more tired than usual after meetings." Of course, fatigue due to environmental changes can also be a cause. However, "hearing problems" can occur even in the working generation. A large-scale survey on hearing loss and hearing aids, "JapanTrak 2025," shows that the self-reported hearing loss rate is 11% overall (18 years and older: 12.6%), and by age group, it is 7.2% for 45-54 years old and 8.3% for 55-64 years old. Audio Nova, a specialty store for hearing aids, has designated April as "Working Generation's Hearing" awareness month and is strengthening opportunities to "experience the change in hearing" and provide information leading to the next course of action.

### What is JapanTrak 2025? JapanTrak 2025 is a large-scale survey on hearing loss and hearing aids in Japan, conducted mainly by the Japan Hearing Aid Industry Association (JHIMA) (representative sample: n=14,368). ※ Survey design and analysis were handled by the research organization (Anovum GmbH).

### New Year's 'Discomfort' Isn't Always Just Fatigue — A Certain Number of Working Generations Also Experience 'Difficulty Hearing'

Changes in hearing can be difficult to grasp on your own, unlike vision. Therefore, even if you feel discomfort in meetings or on the phone, you tend to dismiss it as "just being tired" or "the other person's speaking style." The data from JapanTrak 2025 shows a certain percentage of self-reported hearing loss even among working age groups. Self-reported hearing loss rate: 7.2% for 45-54 years old, 8.3% for 55-64 years old. On the other hand, only 50% have had a hearing test in the last five years. This suggests that even when opportunities to notice (such as health check-ups) exist, there is a certain segment of the population whose awareness does not translate into action.

### Work Comprehension Can Be Supported by Countermeasures

In JapanTrak 2025, 91% of hearing aid owners who work responded that they "find them useful at work" (n=92). This data shows that comprehension in work settings, such as meetings and phone calls, can indeed be supported by countermeasures.

### 'Experience and Realize': You Can Experience 'Changes in Hearing' at Our Flagship Store

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