- Doctors believe 65-year-old’s overenthusiastic vocal style was to blame after he put too much pressure on his lungs in the ‘heat of the moment’
- Amateurs advised they should not sing for more than two hours at a time if they want to avoid similar problems
A man from eastern China needed hospital treatment after a marathon karaoke session left him with a collapsed lung, according to media reports.
The 65-year-old from Nanchang county in Jiangxi province, identified only by his surname Wang, told the video site PearVideo that he started feeling pains in his chest after singing 10 high-pitched songs in a row.
Doctors said later that the strain placed on his lung by trying to reach these high notes had prompted the condition.
"I was very excited in the heat of the moment and after singing a few songs with very high notes, I found myself having breathing difficulties," he said.
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He felt that this was unusual as he had sung these songs many times and was always able to reach the high notes, but this time he was out of breath and felt pain in the left lung.
He decided to ignore the discomfort at that time, but the pain worsened after he went back home, the Nanchang News reported on Wednesday.
Wang was taken to the local hospital the next day, and was told that he had suffered a collapsed lung.
Peng Bin-fei, a doctor from emergency department at Nanchang hospital told PearVideo that this condition could prove life-threatening.
"The patient suffered from a lung collapse because of the high lung pressure caused by singing high notes," he explained.
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He added this injury was common among males, especially those middle-aged or older. "It's better not to sing for a period of over two hours."
The incident soon went viral on social media, reaching more than 100 million views and prompting discussion on Weibo.
"This man really sings with his life," one wrote.
"Never imagined this could really happen, I feel lucky that I have a deep voice," another wrote.
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