This woman can't hear men thanks to rare condition
A woman is going viral on the Internet after she was diagnosed with a rare disease in which she could no longer hear men’s voices.
The Chinese woman, who is only identified by her surname Chen, felt nauseous and heard ringing noises in her ears the night before. When she woke up, she could no longer hear her boyfriend or any other man.
The woman then headed to Qianpu Hospital in Xiamen.
“She was able to hear me when I spoke to her, but when a young male patient walked in, she couldn't hear him at all,” said Dr Lin Xiaoqing.
Chen was finally diagnosed with reverse-slope hearing loss, a rare condition where one is unable to hear low-frequency sounds. The condition only affects about 3000 people in the US and Canada.
This could explain Chen’s inability to hear her boyfriend, as men’s voices tend to be lower-pitched than women’s.
The main sources of RSHL include genetic abnormalities, although Dr Xiaoqing said fatigue and stress could also contribute to the condition. According to the specialist, treating the symptoms as early as possible is important. She also expected Chen to make a full recovery.
The Internet is awash with reactions to Chen’s predicament, with many women joking about wanting to get such a condition.
“What a dream,” one user said, while another commented, “The condition is even more common among men, who can’t hear “female voices.””
A woman claims to have a condition that means she can't hear mens voices... #dailydecider
— Damien St John (@damienstjohn) January 14, 2019
However, others said the condition is no laughing matter.
“Jokes like 'I wish I had that' 'hope it’s contagious' etc are very funny when you are not actually #deaf,” a Twitter user said.
Are you familiar with this type of hearing loss? Let us know in the comments.