Mainland Follies: 65-year-old karaoke-goer collapses lung hitting high notes

A karaoke parlor in China. Photo illustration via Flickr.
A karaoke parlor in China. Photo illustration via Flickr.

Legend has it that the singer Tom Jones held the final syllable of “Thunderball” in the titular James Bond film’s opening song for so long that he actually passed out in the recording studio.

Well, Tom Jones ain’t got shit on this guy.

A 65-year-old man in China’s Nanchang county had to be hospitalized after he literally collapsed a lung while straining to hit the high notes in a 10-song karaoke blowout, the SCMP reports.

“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,” the man, surnamed Wang, told the Chinese site PearVideo.

The Nanchang News reported on Wednesday that man paid the pain in his chest no mind at the time, but after he returned home, it intensified to the point that he could ignore it no longer.

The following day, Wang went to the hospital, where he was informed that he had collapsed his left lung.

Dr. Peng Bin-fei said that the injury had occurred “because of the high lung pressure caused by singing high notes.”

Somewhat shockingly, Peng added that the injury wasn’t uncommon among older males, adding, “It’s better not to sing for a period of over two hours.”

While that may well be sound advice, Peng did not, however, address the complications arising from having a song in your heart and not letting it out. Because let us tell you something, doctor, that’s what really hurts.



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