Stridor is an abnormal high-pitched sound you make when you inhale or exhale. This sound happens when you have a blockage in your throat (pharynx), voice box (larynx) or windpipe (trachea).
Noisy breathing is typically caused by a partial blockage or narrowing at some point in the airways (respiratory tract). This can occur in the mouth or nose, in the throat, in the larynx (voice box), in the trachea (breathing tube), or further down into the lungs.
Rhonchi are low pitched, continuous sounds that sound similar to snoring. They occur due to blockages in the large airways of the lungs. Rhonchi can occur during exhalation or exhalation and inhalation, but not inhalation alone. They happen due to the movement of fluid and other secretions in the large airways.
Crackling , otherwise known as rales, describes a sound in the lungs that resembles a crackling or clicking sound when a person breathes in. According to one 2021 study, crackling sounds are common in COPD. There are two distinct types of crackling sounds detectable in the lungs: coarse and fine.
These low-pitched wheezing sounds sound like snoring and usually happen when you breathe out. They can be a sign that your bronchial tubes (the tubes that connect your trachea to your lungs) are thickening because of mucus. Rhonchi sounds can be a sign of bronchitis or COPD.
Rhonchi. Rhonchi sounds have a continuous snoring, gurgling, or rattle-like quality. Rhonchi occur in the bronchi as air moves through tracheal-bronchial passages coated with mucus or respiratory secretions. This is often heard in pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or cystic fibrosis.
While the name "popcorn lung" may not sound like a threat, it's a serious lung disease that causes coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath, similar to the symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Wheezing when exhaling isn't a reason to see a doctor by itself. For instance, during a respiratory illness, you may hear some wheezing — a sign that your airways are irritated and inflamed — but this is typically temporary.
The “wet” or “gurgling” sounds are caused by air passing over pooled oral and respiratory secretions the patient is no longer able to swallow or cough up – the patient may still be fully or partially conscious or unconscious. Wet breathing sounds can occur on inhalation or exhalation.
Rhonchi sounds have a continuous snoring, gurgling, or rattle-like quality. Rhonchi occur in the bronchi as air moves through tracheal-bronchial passages coated with mucus or respiratory secretions. This is often heard in the upper lung field in the presence of pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or cystic fibrosis.
Partial airway obstruction is typically associated with gurgling and/or snoring sounds (see Part I Sect. 10.1007/978-3-319-77365-0_3). Gurgling sounds can be heard during inspiration and sometimes also expiration. They indicate that secretions or semi-solid materials are obstructing the larynx or pharynx.
For the lungs, typically the patient is asked to breathe in and out deeply. There are normal sounds of air movement, but also there can be abnormal sounds, like wheezes during expiration (breathing out) and crackles during inspiration (breathing in). Both are well-known signs of disease.
Crackles. These may be either coarse or fine. They are discontinuous, interrupted explosive sounds. Coarse crackles or crepitations are associated with bronchiectasis or resolving pneumonia, whereas fine crackles can be heard with either pulmonary oedema or interstitial fibrosis.
What Is a Bronchitis Cough Like? A bronchitis cough sounds like a rattle with a wheezing or whistling sound. As your condition progresses, you will first have a dry cough that can then progress towards coughing up white mucus.
Crackles are short explosive breath sounds, usually associated with pulmonary disorders and heart failure.
Crackling (Rales)
They can also sound like bubbling, rattling, or clicking. You're more likely to have them when you breathe in, but they can happen when you breathe out, too. You can have fine crackles, which are shorter and higher in pitch, or coarse crackles, which are lower.
Bacterial pneumonia is more serious and often results in a gurgling sound when breathing and mucus or phlegm when coughing.
Coughing or deep inspiration may change the quality of coarse crackles, such as those associated with underlying alveolar or airway disease, but the crackles rarely disappear entirely.
Crackles (or rales) are caused by fluid in the small airways or atelectasis. Crackles are referred to as discontinuous sounds; they are intermittent, nonmusical and brief. Crackles may be heard on inspiration or expiration.
A gurgle in your throat
Just like a burp, throat gurgles let out excess air from your stomach. When you eat too fast, chew gum, or drink something carbonated, there's a good chance you're swallowing air. That air comes back up as a burp or a gurgle, according to the Mayo Clinic.
A grunting sound can be heard each time the person exhales. This grunting is the body's way of trying to keep air in the lungs so they will stay open. Nose flaring. The openings of the nose spreading open while breathing may mean that a person is having to work harder to breathe.