Why do some people sneeze so loudly?

If I sneeze, everyone knows. The resulting shock wave rocks windows, wakes sleeping animals and puts nearby people on edge. My partner, who sneezes like a field mouse with hiccups, insists I do this on purpose. I maintain that at this decibel level the urge to sneeze is irresistible. Why do some people sneeze so loudly?

What happens when we sneeze?

Let’s establish one thing first: sneezing is important for the body. “The nose is an air filter for the lungs,” says Mas Takashima, the chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Houston Methodist Academic Institute. Our nose contains a dense network of epithelial cells (a multifunctional cell found everywhere in the body), small hairs and thick mucus. These elements, says Takashima, “capture particles so that the lungs can be protected.” When these particles build up, they need to be flushed away.

There are also populations of them immune cells in our noses, which wake up when they detect high levels of sneeze-inducing compounds. “Some of the chemicals made as a result of that immune response cause changes in the lining of our nose,” says Sheena Cruickshank, a professor at the Department of Immunology at the University of Manchester. These changes will be familiar to anyone who has endured a summer of pollen or a winter of slime. The body produces more mucus, swelling begins in the nose, and signals are sent to the brain via the trigeminal nerve, which provides sensation to the face. This signal is processed by an area at the base of our brain, the medulla oblongata, resulting in reflexive muscle contractions. All this leads to sneezing. But while the causes of sneezing vary, there’s no reason why a virus should sneeze louder than grass pollen, Cruickshank says.

What makes some sneezes louder?

Instead, the key to sneeze volume lies in the structure of our respiratory system. The first step of the sneeze reflex, Takashima says, involves taking a deep breath. “

You need that air to expel everything,” he adds. As air is drawn into our lungs, our vocal cords close tightly. Once sufficient pressure has built up in our lungs, all the air is expelled. “It’s the airflow passing through the vocal cords that creates the sound of sneezing,” says Takashima. The shape and “laxity” of our vocal cords and other soft tissue at the back of the throat influence whether or not we get soft or booming sneezes. Lung volume also determines how much air enters and leaves our chest during a sneeze, meaning no physical measurement can predict sneeze volume. “Some people with large lung volumes have very small sneezes,” says Takashima.

The next time I tear space-time with a sneeze, can I blame my resonating throat? Unfortunately, Takashima says it’s not that simple. “There are societal norms or cultural factors that can influence the sound of a sneeze,” he says.

How to sneeze calmly

Takashima points out that in Japan, where there is a heavy cultural emphasis on not bothering others, people manage to suppress their sneezing fits. The key here, he says, is minimizing the amount of resonant energy flowing through your oral cavity – in simple terms, closing your mouth. This, he says, will reduce the volume of your sneeze.

Is the solution to this deafening problem really that simple? A look at the medical literature suggests that sneeze suppression can be a surprisingly bad idea. a case study from a hospital in the Belgian city of Liège is a cautionary tale. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — when loud sneezing in public did not go down well — a 38-year-old man reported pain and swelling in his face after holding back a sneeze. A scan showed he had ruptured his sinus. Takashima supports this. “Suppressing sneezing can cause medical problems such as nosebleeds,” he says. “You can force air through the Eustachian tube, which could potentially cause problems with your eardrum.”

But the next time you find a speck of dust stuck in your throat in a library, or while a pet sleeps comfortably nearby, there is an alternative to loud sneezing. “There are times when you don’t want to make a scene or you want to try to keep the scene as quiet as possible,” says Takashima. “Keeping your mouth closed while you sneeze can certainly do that.”