Parents issued warning over accidentally giving their kids the 'kiss of deaf'

Mums and dads around the world are being warned about both receiving and giving a 'kiss of death' from their children.

Speaking about the harrowing condition recently, several GPs are using their platform to emphasise that the harrowing condition can affect the recipient's life on a permanent basis.

As part of a Instagram series called 'New Fear Unlocked', social media medic Dr Samuel Choudhary began by recalling the case of one patient he'd dealt with recently, who'd received the 'kiss of death' from her daughter.

"Be careful when kissing ears," he began. "This is a story of how a four-year-old made her mother deaf.

"Mrs X is a 49-year-old lady from Long Island, New York, USA. She was perfectly healthy and enjoying her time watching TV with her child.

"That was when her child suddenly gave her a very vigorous kiss, but the child ended up placing her kiss directly over her ear - to be more specific, over the ear canal.

"And her daughter completed it with a long sucking kiss - that was when things took a turn for the worse."

Dr Samuel added that the mother had completely lost hearing in her left ear in the seconds that followed, and that, after visiting a specialist later that week, she was beginning to experience more problems.

"She was very sensitive to sounds, and even one year after the incident was over, she still had moderate hearing loss and heard weird noises in her ear every time she moved her head," he continued.

"The reason for this permanent hearing damage is because of the sucking action of the kiss. That suction affected the sensitive structures in the ear, causing permanent damage, leading to a condition called the 'Kiss of Deaf', and while this is rare, it has happened before and can be so easily prevented.

"I'm not going to be teaching you kissing techniques, but in general, when kissing, just stick to the normal parts of the ear.

"Avoid this place [the hole], and avoid applying suction, because you want to leave the suctioning to other aspects of your life."

The same message is also being emphasised by the Southwest Balance, Dizziness and Ear Institute, who referred to the phenomenon as a 'cochlear ear-kiss injury'.

It isn't just parents who could be subjected to this life-changing condition, however, with mums and dads also being warned not to plonk similarly sloppy kisses on their children's ears.

According to the Institute, babies and small children are particularly vulnerable to 'kisses of death', being that their ear canals are smaller.

Intense suction and negative pressure will have a huge impact on their ability to hear.

Experts at the organisation say that the child, if enduring such pain as a result, will likely cry out.

Another issue is that it is unlikely that they'll be able to voice their hearing loss until they're older, meaning it can go unnoticed for some time.

"The bottom line is, never kiss anyone, child or adult, directly on the ear!" the experts explain.

"Mothers and fathers, grandparents, and siblings just love to kiss babies and small children, and must be warned of this danger. Especially concerning are little children who try to kiss a baby sibling."