If you’ve lost feeling when you ejaculate, you may be experiencing a loss of ejaculatory sensation.
Problems with ejaculation and orgasms can affect sexual behavior profoundly and trigger strong emotional responses.
In this article, we’re going to cover the basics you need to know about anorgasmia, which is basically a loss of ejaculatory sensation.
After reading, you will be able to identify this condition and learn about its causes, treatment, and more.
What is a loss of ejaculatory sensation?
Loss of ejaculatory sensation is a male orgasmic disorder clinically termed anorgasmia. It is included in the spectrum of delayed ejaculation disorders, also known as orgasm timing disorders (1).
This group of ejaculatory disorders has increased ejaculation latency, retrograde ejaculation, painful ejaculation, and anorgasmia.
They are grouped together because they are very frequently linked in one way or another, and most patients experience more than one of these entities simultaneously.
When a man reaches climax, and during ejaculation, they feel an upsurge of pleasure due to chemical interaction between the genitalia and the brain chemistry.
For patients with a loss of ejaculatory sensation, ejaculation doesn’t feel the same. They either have a reduced orgasm or no feeling when they ejaculate and, as such, do not feel any pleasure at all.
Symptoms
Delayed ejaculation disorders are grouped into one entity because they are commonly found in the same patient. Thus, symptoms of anorgasmia and delayed ejaculation disorder include:
Loss of ejaculatory sensation
As mentioned above, a loss of ejaculatory sensation features a significant reduction or complete absence of sexual pleasure during ejaculation.
Basically, you can’t feel ejaculation and have lost feeling when you climax.
Retrograde ejaculation
This refers to the involuntary release of semen back into the bladder instead of out of the urethra. Essentially, it is a lack of ejaculation and orgasm without ejaculation.
Retrograde ejaculation is common in males with spinal cord injury and may result from neurogenic bladder dysfunction.
Painful ejaculation
This is characterized by pain instead of pleasure during ejaculation or a mixed sensation of pleasure and discomfort during the climax. In males, it is often a symptom of prostate disease.
Increased ejaculatory latency
As the name implies, this is a symptom where males take very long to ejaculate and experience an orgasm. This can be caused by stress, anxiety, low testosterone levels, and a lack of exercise, as discussed below.
What causes a loss of ejaculatory sensation?
Delayed ejaculation disorders mentioned above have many things in common. One of them is a list of causes or triggers.
Things like retrograde ejaculation and painful ejaculation can have causes of their own, but in general, there are more similarities than differences.
The most important causes and precipitating factors of an orgasmic disorder include:
Hormonal problems
The most common hormonal problem in men with ejaculation problems is an increase in prolactin levels. Such an increase reduces testosterone levels and its effects on our sexual desire.
When sexual stimulation and libido are not enough, patients won’t reach their climax and experience an inability to have an orgasm.
Increased stimulation
Men who experience more pleasure with masturbation than with partnered intercourse can experience a partial or total loss of ejaculatory sensation.
Vaginal intercourse and other types of sexual activity may not recreate exactly how masturbation feels, which can become frustrating and cause performance anxiety.
Doctors will suspect this trigger in males with higher masturbatory activity and low intercourse satisfaction. They usually have depression and anxiety and report frequent nighttime emissions.
Reduced penile sensation
In many cases, the underlying cause is a problem with the nerves or penile sensitivity. The nervous system has several components involved in ejaculation, including the receptors in the penis and the spinal cord.
When any of these components are affected, patients can experience a loss of ejaculatory sensation.
The penile sensation reduces with age, especially in patients with higher masturbatory activity and after circumcision. Patients with diabetic neuropathy may also reduce sensitivity in different nerves, including the penis.
Psychosexual problems
Sometimes, there is no physical cause to trace. Instead, ejaculation issues are associated with sexual behaviors and sex-related conduct.
For instance, performance anxiety and fear before and during intercourse may reduce the ejaculatory sensation.
Conflictive relationships with your partner can also affect arousal and how both feel during the climax. You can also have a situational problem, which is suspected if you have this problem with a partner and not the other.
In some cases, patients can have a reduced or delayed orgasm when they become anxious about timed intercourse demands as a part of fertility treatment.
Medications
Some medications can also reduce ejaculatory sensation, delayed ejaculation, or complete anorgasmia. The most likely culprit is an antidepressant family known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs.
Opioids and antipsychotic medications can also reduce the sensation of an orgasm. This is because one of the neurotransmitters, serotonin, is associated with prolactin release. Thus, drugs can trigger high prolactin problems with the consequences detailed above.
How does a loss of ejaculatory sensation affect sexual function?
Orgasm pleasure is one of the most critical factors in sexual satisfaction. Thus, loss of ejaculatory sensation can cause many problems, including erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and diminished desire.
Men can lose interest in sex, creating a vicious cycle that makes it even more difficult to reach an orgasm.
This often has consequences in couples and creates conflicts if they don’t have any baseline problems already related to sexual health.
As a part of the treatment, patients with ejaculation timing problems (including premature ejaculation, too) and anorgasmia should undergo sexual counseling to adopt a healthy approach and learn ways to cope with sexual and orgasmic dysfunction until their symptoms improve with different forms of therapy.
How to regain sensation
Loss of ejaculatory sensation is a complex problem, and there are often multiple triggers instead of only one. There’s a different approach to treating orgasm problems depending on each case.
Some treatment options doctors recommend include:
Psychosexual counseling
It involves treating couples to detect any relationship difficulties and stress contributing to the disorder through psychotherapy techniques.
It focuses on anxiety reduction, sexual education, masturbation retraining, arousal methods, sexual fantasy issues, and much more.
Pharmacotherapy
Doctors can sometimes use drugs to improve results. Depending on the patient and the cause of anorgasmia, they may use testosterone boosters, bupropion, or natural remedies such as yohimbine.
Testosterone replacement therapy
Formal testosterone replacement can also be helpful when the main problem is associated with low serum testosterone levels. It works in cases of hyperprolactinemia, too. Patients improve their orgasmic function, their erectile function, and other sexual traits.
Penile vibratory stimulation
When penile sensitivity loss is the main problem, vibratory stimulation can also help. A vibrator or similar sex enhancement devices are applied to the glans in the frenular area to restore erectile function. It has a high success rate, but not all patients may respond to this type of therapy.
Electroejaculation
A more extreme measure is applying low-energy electric currents through a transrectal probe. This is only used for fertility purposes and in patients with severe injuries to their spinal cord.
When to see a doctor
If you are experiencing a loss of sensation when ejaculating, you will probably feel anxious about it. In some cases, this problem causes relationship problems and psychological consequences.
Before that happens, you must see a doctor, learn about your condition, and look for a solution to your problem.
Conclusion
Loss of ejaculatory sensation is a part of a larger group of disorders that range from anejaculation to retrograde ejaculation. It is a reduction or complete absence of satisfaction after reaching a climax in males.
Men may experience ejaculation but no orgasm, as they have lost feeling when they climax.
The cause can be rooted in a sexual desire disorder, hormone issues, nerve damage, low levels of sex hormones, problems with your sex partner, or baseline mood disorders.
A doctor should evaluate these conditions if they cause a problem with your partner or become a cause of deep concern, anxiety, and depression.
In such cases, there is evidence that sex therapists, pharmacotherapy, and penile vibratory stimulation are some therapeutic options doctors can try to help you solve the problem.
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