A woman in China has made headlines after a rare type of temporary hearing condition has left her unable to hear the voices of men.
According to the Daily Mail, the patient, only identified as ‘Ms. Chen’, woke up one morning unable to hear her boyfriend speak.
Ms. Chen went straight to Qianpu Hospital where she was seen by an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Dr. Lin Xiaoqing.
Dr. Xiaoqing told reporters, “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.”
Further reports reveal Ms. Chen felt nauseous the night previous to her condition appearing and heard a ringing in her ears.
It’s believed Ms. Chen was under a lot of stress, working late and not getting enough sleep, Daily Mail reports.
Doctors were initially puzzled by her symptoms, but she was eventually diagnosed with “reverse-slope hearing loss, in which she could only hear high frequencies.”
The condition only affects one in nearly 13,000 patients with hearing problems. It’s also difficult to diagnose because patients and medics can be unaware it exists.
Ms. Chen is expected to make a full recovery.
