Every woman at one point has wished that they could put their partner on mute during an argument.
Well, for one woman in China, this has become a reality. Only identified by her last name, Chen woke up one morning and could no longer hear her boyfriend speak.
She immediately sought medical help at Qianpu Hospital, where she was checked by ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Lin Xiaoqing.
Much to their surprise, she was able to hear Dr. Xiaoqing whenever she talked, but she could not hear the voice of a male patient that walked in at one point.
"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 specialist told reporters.
Chen explained to the doctors that she experienced nausea and ringing in her ears the night before. She chalked it up to being overworked and stressed, and didn't think much of it before going to sleep, hoping that a peaceful slumber would fix the problem.
It took a team of doctors a while to link her weird symptoms to a disorder, but they were eventually able to diagnose called "reverse-slope hearing loss," which means she is only able to hear high frequencies. This explains why she is only able to hear women's voices.
According to the Daily Mail, the rare condition only affects one in 13,000 patients with hearing problems. In North America, only 3,000 people have been diagnosed with reverse-slope hearing loss. It is believed that there are many people who currently live with it, but because it is difficult to diagnose, they may be unaware of it.
While the condition may be caused by genetics, stress can also play a role. In Chen's case, Dr. Xiaoqing believes that the fatigue and stress brought on by her long work hours may have triggered the problem.
Chen is currently receiving treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.