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BTS member Kim Tae-hyung, known as V, told fans during a Weverse broadcast that if hearing in his left ear registers at 100, it measures only about 30 in his right. The 30-year-old singer, who had not previously disclosed the condition to the group’s fandom, said he has been taking medication and attending hospital appointments regularly to manage it. According to The Korea Times, which covered the August 12 livestream with bandmate Jungkook, V described the issue as one he had kept private until that point.
V indicated that his hearing deteriorated further while he fulfilled mandatory military service, which he entered in 2023 before his discharge in June 2025. He initially viewed the problem as something that could be overcome through mental resolve rather than medical intervention. South Korean law requires most able-bodied men to complete 18 months of service, a obligation that led all seven BTS members to pause their careers starting in 2022.
The disclosure arrived midway through the Arirang World Tour, which Big Hit Music launched in April 2026 at Goyang Stadium in South Korea and which according to the group’s official schedule will encompass 88 dates across 34 cities in 23 countries through March 2027. The tour represents the band’s full reunion after individual military discharges and has already included concerts in Baltimore. Upcoming stops listed on the tour website include Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Sydney and Hong Kong.
In the same livestream Jungkook addressed his own ongoing shin injury, which he said had placed him on the verge of a stress fracture during performances. The singer noted that pain had limited his usual energetic movements on stage in recent shows. Jungkook stressed the importance of proper health management to sustain the tour’s demanding schedule, according to reports from Yonhap News Agency.
A meta-analysis published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery found that 25.7 percent of musicians experience hearing loss compared with 11.6 percent of the general population, based on data from more than 28,000 participants across 21 countries. The February 2026 study by the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery also placed tinnitus prevalence at 42.6 percent among musicians versus 13.2 percent in control groups. No significant difference appeared between classical and popular music performers in the reviewed research.
The K-pop sector has featured other artists navigating hearing challenges, including the boy band Big Ocean, described by the BBC as the world’s first such group composed entirely of members with varying degrees of hearing loss. Each of Big Ocean’s three members manages his condition while maintaining a performing career. V’s public account adds to growing attention on auditory health risks associated with prolonged exposure to high-volume music environments.
