A woman developed a rare condition—and now she can’t hear men’s voices
Imagine this: One day, you wake up to discover that you can no longer hear half of the world’s population. Specifically, most of the men you know. It might sound like the premise of a movie, but one woman in China developed a rare form of hearing loss, and as a result, she can’t hear men. The Daily Mail reports that the woman, identified by her last name, Chen, woke up one morning unable to hear her boyfriend’s voice. She rushed to the hospital, where an ear, nose, and throat specialist diagnosed her with “reverse-slope hearing loss”—meaning that she can’t hear low-frequency sounds.
"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 female ENT, Lin Xiaoqing, told the Daily Mail.
According to the Thigpen Hearing Center, reverse-slope hearing loss is extremely rare, with only about 3,000 people in the U.S. and Canada combined affected. High-frequency hearing loss, which would make it more difficult to hear women and children, is far more common. The cause of Chen’s condition isn’t clear, but Xiaoqing theorized that fatigue and stress are at least partially to blame. The Thigpen Hearing Center notes that multiple factors, including genetics and illness, can contribute to this particular condition. Thankfully, Chen will likely make a full recovery.
A woman has been diagnosed with a type of hearing loss which means she can't hear the voices of men – only women https://t.co/H01xvn6yAI
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) January 10, 2019
As you might expect, many on Twitter were quick to make jokes about the situation.
I just heard on the news that there’s a woman who has a medical condition where she literally can’t hear men’s voices. What a dream
— emily (@wigs_r_us) January 10, 2019
…but how does she know what do with her uterus? Who’s there to question the accuracy what she says? WHO TAKES HER IDEAS IN MEETINGS?! #chaos https://t.co/RbC1GWp4aW
— Me (@lizzzymac) January 11, 2019
Others pointed out that hearing loss is no laughing matter. false false
Context: a woman temporarily lost her ability to hear low-frequency sounds, which is also dangerous as fuck as a pedestrian. “Lol she can’t hear men” jokes then ensued. https://t.co/c7zd17WD3J
— ResponsibleDebaucher🏳️⚧️🦖🦕 (@artfulscientist) January 11, 2019
WORD. I’m not fully deaf but pretty damn hearing impaired and I’ve been cussed out by a group of drunk white men for not hearing/responding to their hellos, and I don’t even wanna know how many people think I’m bitchy and aloof when I Just Can’t Hear Them 😓 https://t.co/ZAfufdP4jL
— allison (@colossalmistake) January 11, 2019
We’re wishing Chen a full and speedy recovery.
