Affected by a rare disease, this woman can no longer hear men

Reported by the DailyMail, the unusual story of this woman whom the daily calls Madame Chen is very serious. Victim of nausea and ringing in the ears, the latter realized one evening that she no longer heard her husband’s voice.

Residing in the city of Xiamen, on the east coast of China, Ms. Chen rushed to the nearest hospital and quickly realized that she could no longer hear the voices of all the men who came to her. surrounded, while she had no problem hearing the women. A rare disease, commonly called “reverse ski slope hearing loss”.

The origins of this disease are unknown

Specifically, this phenomenon is characterized by a decrease in hearing at low frequencies such as male voices, while the high frequencies found in female voices are spared. The origins of this disease are still unknown, but research work published in 2012 by a student of the University of Lorraine affirms that the most common are Ménière’s disease (which infects the inner ear and causes rotary vertigo, tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss) as well as genetic mutations. “There are also sporadic cases of isolated deafness with no known cause,” says the research author.

the Kresge Hearing Research Institute, in the United States, explains that the disease can also manifest itself because of Mondini’s dysplasia (cochlear malformation), sudden loss of hearing, viral infections, kidney failure or after spinal anesthesia.

This type of deafness is so rare that not all doctors know of its existence, which makes it difficult to diagnose. In Ms. Chen’s case, the reasons remain unknown. Interviewed by the British newspaper, his doctor Lin Xiaoqing indicates that the stress and fatigue accumulated by the patient in recent months could have played a role, without however being certain. History does not say whether Mrs. Chen recovered all of her hearing, nor science whether she ever will. In the meantime, Ms. Chen will have to be fitted to hear the deep voices again.