A woman in China is making headlines for a rare type of temporary hearing condition that makes her unable to hear men. According to the Daily Mail, the patient, only identified as Ms. Chen, woke up one morning and couldn't hear her boyfriend speak.
Chen went straight to Qianpu Hospital where she was seen by an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Dr. Lin Xiaoqing, who treated Chen, 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.'
The night before, Chen felt nausea and suffered from a ringing in her ears. She was also under a lot of stress, working late and not getting enough sleep. Chen thought little of it and went to sleep as usual before waking up with the condition.
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 Mail reports 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.
Dr. Xiaoqing believes fatigue and too much stress may have contributed to Chen's hearing loss and expects her to make a full recovery.
Ariana Yaptangco oversees all #content across ELLE's social media platforms and covers beauty news. When she isn't staring at a screen, you can find her drinking tea, trying new skincare products, or yelling about the New York Mets.
