A throat-clear is a sound made at the back of the throat. The throat-clear is articulated as a single-syllable exclamation, written onomatopoeiacally as "hem"; or it may be articulated as a double-syllable sound, written as "ahem", which is expressed by inhaling slightly and then exhaling more forcibly.

Paralanguage

The deliberately executed throat-clear is a nonverbal, paralingual form of metacommunication. A loud, exaggerated throat-clearing noise may sometimes be used to get attention.

Upper respiratory

The throat-clear may be

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d consciously or unconsciously as a symptom of a number of laryngopharyngeal ( upper respiratory tract) ailments.

Voice

Continual throat-clearing is a symptom of chronically dry vocal cords, caused by insufficiently produced amounts of mucus due to inadequate amounts of water and by excessive amounts of caffeine and alcohol.

References

{{Reflist Cough Gestures