It’s the ‘least studied male sexual health problem’ yet it affects 4% of guys… so what is delayed ejaculation?

In recent years, significant progress has been made to break the taboo of male sexual health dysfunctions.

But although most people are aware of premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction, doctors say there is another common problem that millions of men suffer in silence.

Delayed ejaculation (DE), generally defined as taking at least 30 minutes to try to reach orgasm, either through masturbation or sex with a partner. It affects approximately four percent of the male population.

According Dr. Juza Chenurologist at Tel-Aviv University: “Men with ED report less coital activity, higher levels of relationship distress, sexual dissatisfaction, lower arousal, anxiety about their sexual performance, and overall health problems compared to men sexually functional.”

Sexual health experts have called delayed ejaculation the least studied of all male sexual dysfunctions.

Estimates of the number of men suffering from this poorly understood disease range from around four percent to up to 10 percent globally.

There are no set criteria for evaluating a man who complains of ED because everyone’s idea of ​​a “normal” amount of time until ejaculation is different. But 25 to 30 minutes of trying to orgasm is usually the threshold that psychiatrists use to measure and diagnose ED.

Despite the minimal research attention the condition receives, it can cause significant blows to a man’s self-esteem and the health of his relationship with his partner.

Dr. Chen wrote in 2016: “The psychological and relational impact of ED is often significant, as it typically results in a lack of sexual satisfaction for both the man and his partner.”

Meanwhile, researchers in the US and the Netherlands reported that same year: ‘Like men with other sexual dysfunctions, men with (delayed ejaculation) expressed lower relationship satisfaction than controls and elevated levels of fear of failure in sexual situations, indicating a significant amount of annoyance or distress due to their condition.’

Based on relatively little scientific research into the causes of the condition, sexual health experts believe that could have its roots in childhood trauma and attitudes of shame and anxiety around sex.

Achieving an orgasm is usually the ultimate goal for men in a sexual encounter, BUT men with signs of a delayed ejaculation problem may have difficulty reaching the goal.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a much more common sexual dysfunction: About 18 percent of men ages 20 and older report a persistent inability to achieve an erection.

Some men are born with ED, but in some cases it develops at some point in their lives and the condition can persist for years.

The risk of ED increases with age, similar to erectile dysfunction, due to the many age-related changes the body experiences with advancing age, such as the natural decline in testosterone levels as well as the weakening of muscles. pelvic muscles and deterioration of nerve function that helps the brain. communicate with other body systems leading to an erection.

Testosterone levels typically peak around age 20 and slowly decline throughout the rest of adulthood.

At their highest, testosterone levels should be between 300 and 1200 ng/dL. Once men reach their thirties, testosterone levels begin to decline by at least one percent per year.

There is also growing evidence that having type 1 diabetes increases a man’s risk of having ejaculation problems.

Mental distress, particularly anxiety, is a major force driving delayed ejaculation. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine asked more than 3,000 men what they believed was the cause of their ED.

At the top of the list was generalized anxiety with 45 percent of men claiming this was the cause, followed by 34 percent who attributed it to anxiety specifically about sexual performance, followed closely by 30 percent of men who blamed inadequate penile stimulation.

The report’s authors said their results confirmed previous assumptions about the possible causes of ED, but they expected anxiety to play as big a role.

Northeastern states like Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire have relatively high median ages. ED tends to be more common in older men

They said: ‘Specifically, anxiety and negative emotions, whether sex-specific or more general, received the strongest support from respondents.

“The association between anxiety and sexual performance problems has been known for a long time, but we were surprised that it was so high on the list of reasons for ED symptoms.”

Often, treating delayed ejaculation will require the help of a mental health expert to address the root cause.

This could lead to a prescription for a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, the SSRI, the gold standard treatment for depression and anxiety.

However, in something of a chicken-or-egg scenario, men who take antidepressant medications They also seem more likely to live with ED.

A 2009 report in the Journal of sexual medicine SSRI users were estimated to have a seven-fold increased risk of delayed ejaculation compared to non-users.

There are also a wide variety of possible physical causes, such as injury to the pelvic nerves that control orgasm, hormone-related conditions such as hypothyroidism, previous prostate surgery, or a phenomenon called retrograde ejaculation, in which semen returns to the bladder in place to go out. of the penis.

In cases where doctors may suspect that low T levels are at play, You may choose to administer testosterone to address falling T levels as a possible cause of the condition.

Doctors may also administer oxytocin, a hormone that is released when a pregnant woman goes into labor.

Oxytocin is abundant during sexual arousal and can enhance an already pleasurable experience.

It is also known as the “love hormone,” which plays a crucial role in bonding and feeling close to another person.

The taboo surrounding the topic of men’s sexual health has meant relatively little public awareness of sexual dysfunction issues.

But in recent years, the stigma has begun to fade as more and more men feel empowered to raise the topic with their primary care doctors.

This has coincided with the meteoric rise of virtual prescription services that allow men to obtain prescriptions for medications to treat erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra and Cialis, as well as remedies for male pattern baldness that can arrive at their doorstep in no time. couple of days for only $10 a month.