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Can a "strong" kiss rupture an eardrum?

mythbusters-kiss-120108.jpg
Yes, this is what we discussed around the table at Thanksgiving. Here is why:
The woman in her 20s was diagnosed with a broken ear drum at a hospital in Zhuhai City, Guangzhou Daily reported today.

Her boyfriend told a doctor that her left ear cracked while they were kissing. The woman later found she couldn't hear anything with that ear.

The doctor, who was identified as Li, told the couple that the inner ear is linked to the mouth. A strong kiss may cause an imbalance in air pressure between the two inner ears and lead to a broken ear drum.

Two versions of this story appear in the Shanghai Daily. The headlines:

Woman kisses goodbye to her hearing

and

A kiss of deaf

Ouch.

Puns aside, sound possible? We're skeptical. Strong kiss or wrong kiss? We're betting on some kind of user error here, or too literal a translation of "suck face."

This is one for the Mythbusters.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Dan Washburn in on December 1, 2008 6:00 PM

Comments [rss]

  • Koufax

    Yeah, I'm not really looking forward to the mythbusters where Adam and Jamie test this. Though I would send that Carrie girl a sext message: http://fiturl.com/0jW

  • ChinaLawBlog

    As a fan of the TV show House, I feel I am qualified to answer and my answer is that this is possible. Eardrums can rupture amazingly easily if they are ready to rupture. I once was talking to a lawyer who picked up his phone, spoke for two minutes and then told me he thought his ear had just ruptured. Turned out it had. The doctor told him that the phone noise was the immediate cause, but that something else would no doubt have triggered it eventually. I rest my case.

  • Dan Washburn

    Here is the submission to Mythbusters.

  • leishi85

    moneyinabox, i LOLed at your comment.

  • moneyinabox

    Give the woman an IV drip, should sort her ear out.

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