Eriko Hiratsuka, 26, received her master's degree from Waseda University's Graduate School of Law in 2010. That's no small achievement for anyone, but for Eriko, who has severe hearing loss in both ears, reaching her goals has always required extra effort. Although she can only hear sounds above 80 decibels — which is about the level of noise at a busy street corner — she never attended a special school for the hard of hearing. Instead, she studied at regular schools by copying what her teachers wrote on whiteboards and what her classmates did in their notebooks. Her perseverance has paid off and she is now preparing for the National Bar Examination.
While continuing her legal studies, Eriko waitresses at Silent Café, a unique space where the staff and guests communicate with gestures, sounds, sign language and silence. Although Eriko loves serving the banana shakes that the Silent Café is famous for, she's preparing to serve in court soon. Her goal is to protect the rights of the deaf and other minorities whose voices are often not heard.
Not all hard-of-hearing people know sign language. I can read lips and I hear some sounds, but I am not so good at sign language. I speak well too, so sometimes people don't notice that I am hard of hearing until they see my hearing aid.