A few days after the birth of Anna Jiang¡¯s son, the first auditory test came back inconclusive. So did several more before the boy turned one month old.

It was difficult news at first, but it also came with a silver lining: Japan¡¯s newborn screening system flagged the hearing issue of Jiang¡¯s son early.

Jiang, 42, a mother of two, lives in Kyoto. By the time her son was three months old, the diagnosis was confirmed. At 5 months, he began wearing hearing aids.