BTS V Hearing Loss Explained: What Taehyung Revealed on Weverse Live
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π· V (Kim Tae-hyung) — © Taehyung’s Moment, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
BTS’ V has been quietly losing hearing in one ear for about two and a half years — and he only just told ARMY. On an August 12 Weverse Live with Jungkook, filmed while the two ate and talked after BTS’s back-to-back Baltimore shows, Taehyung said his right ear now catches only about a third of what his left one does. Then came the part Korean fans can’t stop talking about: during his military service, people around him kept telling him it was a matter of willpower — and for a while, he believed them.
What V actually said
Midway through the livestream, V brought it up almost casually. He told fans he’d never mentioned it before, but his hearing had been getting worse for roughly two and a half years. To describe the gap between his ears, he used a simple comparison: if one ear hears at 100, the other is at about 30.
Jungkook, who clearly hadn’t expected the turn, asked whether the recent hospital visit had helped — or whether the problem had crept back. V said he’s staying on top of it: taking medication consistently and going to the hospital regularly. No dramatic framing, no big announcement. Just two members checking in on each other over a meal, with ARMY listening.
“It’s just willpower”: the part that hit hardest
Here’s where it stops being a simple health update. V said the hearing loss got worse during his mandatory military service — and that the environment there shaped how he handled it.
In Korean, he put it like this: surrounded by people focused on training and νμ΄ν (fighting spirit), he kept being told it was a μ μ λ ₯ λ¬Έμ — a “matter of mental strength.” His word for what happened next was striking: μ΅λ©΄ (choemyeon), literally hypnosis. He said he got so conditioned by that framing that he started genuinely believing his hearing problem was something he could push through by willpower.
Jungkook didn’t let it slide. “That shouldn’t happen,” he said — pushing back on the idea that a medical issue is a mindset issue. It’s a small moment, but it’s the one Korean fans keep quoting.
And no, Jungkook isn’t the one with the hearing issue
Worth clearing up, because the two got tangled online: the hearing story is V’s. On the same livestream, Jungkook shared a different problem — an injury near his shin that he described as close to a stress fracture, with enough inflammation that he’d been holding back from running full-out on stage. He asked fans to understand and said he plans to manage it carefully to finish the tour. Two members, two separate things, one very honest dinner.
π°π· The Korean side / π The global side / π The gap
π°π· The Korean side: Korean coverage and community threads zeroed in on the military detail, not just the number. The idea that a hearing problem could be waved off as μ μ λ ₯ — the same “toughen up, it’s all in your head” reflex many Koreans know from school, work, and especially the army — struck a nerve. On TheQoo and Nate Pann the mood was less “poor V” and more “who told him that, and why did no one send him to a doctor sooner?” There’s real anger folded into the sympathy.
π The global side: International ARMY led with shock at the raw figure — one ear at 30% — and with gratitude that he felt safe enough to say it out loud. Reddit and X filled with fans thanking him for the honesty and begging him to rest.
π The gap: Same clip, two different focal points. English headlines mostly ran the hearing percentage. Korean fans ran the μ μ λ ₯ line. Read only the English coverage and you got the medical fact but missed the cultural gut-punch — that a global superstar spent part of his service being told his own body was a willpower problem.
Why it matters
Hearing is not a small thing for a singer. Stage monitors, in-ears, years of stadium-volume sound — hearing damage is a known occupational risk across the music industry, and plenty of well-known musicians have spoken about it. What makes V’s version land is the honesty about the delay: he didn’t get help right away because the people around him reframed a medical problem as a character test.
The reassuring part is that he’s being treated — medication, regular checkups — and he’s still performing. But he also admitted fatigue has crept into recent shows and asked fans to understand if he holds back in moments he’d normally throw himself into. Reading between the lines: he’s choosing to take care of himself, finally.
FAQ
Is V going deaf? No — he didn’t say that, and it’s important not to overstate it. He described reduced hearing in one ear (about 30% of the other), said he’s on medication, and sees doctors regularly. He didn’t share a specific diagnosis, so anything beyond what he said is speculation.
Will V keep performing and stay on tour? Yes. He’s continuing BTS’s Arirang world tour and asked fans to understand if he paces himself. He framed it as managing the issue, not stepping away.
When and where did he reveal it? During a Weverse Live with Jungkook on August 12, 2026, after BTS’s Baltimore concerts on the North American leg of the tour.
π¬ Jamie’s Take
The μ μ λ ₯ line is the one I can’t shake. If you grew up in Korea, you know that phrase in your bones — “it’s a mental thing, just push through.” It’s how we talk about tired, about sick, about hurt. And here’s one of the most famous people on the planet admitting it worked on him too: he got μ΅λ©΄-ed into ignoring his own ears. I’m glad he’s at the hospital now. I’m gladder Jungkook said the quiet part out loud — that no, this isn’t willpower. Take care of your ears, Taehyung. We’ll be here, listening for both of us.
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