It may seem unbelievable, but a couple kissing by a picturesque lake has led to a man suffering a ruptured eardrum and needing emergency care.
The story of a young man in China who ruptured his eardrum while kissing his girlfriend for up to 10 minutes has gone viral on social media in the country.
A passionate kiss can lead to rapid changes in air pressure within the ear. (Illustrative image: SCMP).
According to Hangzhou Television, on the Qixi Festival (August 22), this couple was deeply embracing and kissing by the beautiful West Lake in Zhejiang Province.
During the kiss, the man reported suddenly hearing a popping sound and experiencing a sharp pain in his left ear. From that moment on, he lost his hearing.
The two hurried to the hospital, where doctors discovered that his eardrum had ruptured. They indicated that he would need two months to fully recover his hearing.
Doctors explained that a passionate kiss can lead to rapid changes in air pressure within the ear. This factor, combined with the strong breath from his girlfriend, caused a pressure imbalance that resulted in the eardrum being perforated.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in China.
Just last month, a similar incident happened to a couple watching television in their home in Guangdong Province.
In addition to kissing, other activities that can cause a ruptured eardrum include fighting, traffic accidents, underwater diving, and flying.
According to a post on baidu.com by Zhang Jun, an otolaryngologist at the Mudanjiang Forestry Hospital in Heilongjiang Province, for most patients, the underlying cause of ear incidents is often due to tympanic membrane inflammation.
For less severe cases, patients may only require treatment with antibiotics and keeping their ears dry to recover. However, for severe eardrum ruptures, surgery may be necessary.
The recent incident in Hangzhou has garnered significant attention on social media, receiving 1 million likes and 400,000 comments on the Douyin platform alone.
One internet user remarked: “The world is so vast, filled with countless strange things.”
Another compared: “It turns out that love can truly deafen one’s ears with its roar.”
“This is why I don’t want to find a partner. It’s too dangerous,” joked another user.
