Throat clearing is forcibly, sometimes mutedly, expelling air from one's
lung
The lungs are the primary Organ (biology), organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the Vertebral column, backbone on either side of the heart. Their ...
s, sometimes to clear
mucus
Mucus (, ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is typically produced from cells found in mucous glands, although it may also originate from mixed glands, which contain both Serous fluid, serous and muc ...
, sometimes to attract attention to something. It is less vigorous than
cough
A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages which can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and Microorganism, microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex fol ...
ing.
Cause
Throat clearing may be
articulated consciously or
unconscious
Unconscious may refer to:
Physiology
* Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli
Psychology
* Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...
ly, and may be a symptom of a number of conditions, as follows:
* Laryngopharyngeal (
upper respiratory tract
The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of conducting air to the alveoli for the purposes of gas exchange in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory ...
) ailments:
**
Common cold
The common cold, or the cold, is a virus, viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract that primarily affects the Respiratory epithelium, respiratory mucosa of the human nose, nose, throat, Paranasal sinuses, sinuses, and larynx. ...
or
post-nasal drip
Post-nasal drip (PND), also known as upper airway cough syndrome (UACS), occurs when excessive mucus is produced by the nasal mucosa. The excess mucus accumulates in the back of the nose, and eventually in the throat once it drips down the back of ...
: The nose dispatches mucus which is meant to assist clearing infections and allergens. Mucus which is thick is forced out with a throat clearing sound.
**
Laryngopharyngeal reflux
Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) or laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) is the retrograde flow of gastric contents into the larynx, oropharynx and/or the nasopharynx. LPR causes respiratory symptoms such as cough and wheezing and is often asso ...
*
Tic
A tic is a sudden and repetitive motor movement or vocalization that is not rhythmic and involves discrete muscle groups. Tics are typically brief and may resemble a normal behavioral characteristic or gesture.
Tics can be invisible to the obs ...
s as signs of any of various conditions, including
anxiety disorder
Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause phys ...
s or
Tourette syndrome
Tourette syndrome (TS), or simply Tourette's, is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinkin ...
Mechanism
Throat clearing is a sound made at the back of the
throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the Human pharynx, pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the t ...
. The act of clearing the throat causes the folds in the throat to vibrate similar to a cough so it may be harmful if it is continuously practiced.
Onomatopoeia
When the pressure is restricted with a closed mouth, as is common in polite society, the sound is articulated as a single-syllable exclamation, written
onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...
cally 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. An alternate onomatopoeia written "hock" or "hawk" (as in "to hock a
loogie") represents the impolite sound of loudly expelling a bolus of
sputum
Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways (the trachea and bronchi). In medicine, sputum samples are usually used for a naked-eye examination, microbiological investigation of respiratory infections, and Cytopathology, cytological ...
with an open mouth.
Paralanguage
A deliberately executed throat clearing can be a
nonverbal
Nonverbal communication is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact ( oculesics), body language ( kinesics), social distance ( proxemics), touch ( haptics), voice ( prosody and paralanguage), p ...
,
paralingual form of
metacommunication
Meta-communication is a secondary communication (including indirect cues) about how a piece of information is meant to be interpreted. It is based on the idea that the same message accompanied by different meta-communication can mean something ent ...
.
A loud, exaggerated throat-clearing noise may sometimes be used to get attention; as in the case of a parent signaling to a child that they should behave.
See also
*
*
References
{{Reflist
Cough
Gestures