How Singaporean singer Hanjin Tan beat hearing problems to be a star – and his plans to help others like him

When Singaporean singer, songwriter and actor Hanjin Tan was 12 years old, he took part in a children’s programme that included a health check. It was diagnosed that he had only half of his hearing in his right ear, and 75 per cent in his left.

“I didn’t think much of it when I was a child, but it explained a lot of things,” he says of his reaction to the diagnosis. He says in his primary school report card it said: “Hanjin loves to sing, but doesn’t have a good voice.” People also found him extremely good tempered, partly because he could not hear everything that was said around him.

He was given the option of using a hearing aid, but Tan didn’t want to because he is very particular about having things on his body. He says he only recently started wearing contact lenses – for a movie – and not wear his signature black frame glasses.

Tan managed to adapt by mostly avoiding noisy environments and cupping his ears to make out what other people were saying. Despite this hearing impairment, he went on to become a successful singer and songwriter, producing hits for such artists as Hong Kong singer Eason Chan, and even Christina Aguilera.

On March 21 Tan will perform in a very special concert called Hanjin & Harris – Little Soldiers Concert at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall at 8pm that is part of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

In a telephone interview in between rehearsals, Tan explains the concert is more like a recital, where various artists will perform – such as a handbell choir from The Hong Kong Blind Union and visually impaired jazz musician Jezrael Lucero from the Philippines. The show will also have sign language from The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf.