AUDIO: THOSE WEIRD SOUNDS YOUR BODY MAKES
Are you self-monitoring how your body feels, anxious about signs you may have been infected with Covid-19? Lots of things our bodies do are perfectly normal. For example, our bodies can make some strange sounds. Other than the obvious ones, here are some of those sounds and what causes them:
– Whooshing in your ears when you lie down. It’s probably blood passing through the jugular vein and carotid artery, both of which are located behind your ear. The noise becomes noticeable when something (like your pillow) blocks external noise. If the sound is present during the day, allergies or infection could be to blame: A congested Eustachian tube, which links the nose and throat to the middle ear, can muffle external sounds. It will typically clear on its own, but a decongestant may help.
– Cracking neck. The neck is a series of paired joints, called facet joints. Each is filled with fluid and surrounded by a capsule. Bending your neck stretches the capsules, which decreases pressure on the joint fluid and causes it to turn into gas; the crack you hear is gas popping out of the joint fluid. Neck cracking is generally not harmful, but see a doctor if you experience pain – especially if it shoots down one arm. This could signal nerve root impingement.
– Tummy rumble. That odd, gurgling sound you hear after dinner is air and fluid moving through the digestive tract. If you hear grumbling on an empty stomach, your gut may be cleaning out leftover bits of food and fluid.
– Wheezing when you twist. Hear a wheeze during a yoga class twist? Air moving out of the stomach or lungs travels through a narrowed airway when you twist, causing a wheezing sound.
– Popping shoulder. If reaching for the top cabinet causes a loud pop, you may have an inflamed shoulder joint. Repetitive overhead movements, like dusting high shelves, can lead to inflammation in the bursa (the small fluid-filled sac) between the rotator cuff tendons and the shoulder blade tip, resulting in a pop. The sound usually disappears by itself. Pain with popping, however, could indicate a tear in the cartilage along the shoulder socket – in this case, see an orthopedist.
– Ringing sounds. Ring, ring – no, it’s not your cell, and no, you’re not going crazy. Nearly everyone experiences tinnitus, or ringing ears, at some point in their life. Infections, very loud noise, and aging can damage hair cells in the ear, causing the cochlea to send signals to the brain even when sound is not present. The issue typically resolves itself, but if a phantom sound lasts more than two days or you also experience pain, see a doctor, who may test you for infection or neurological issues.
– Whistling in your nose. It is typically a sign of airflow obstruction, like a booger. Blow your nose, you cretin.
* I always attributed most of these sounds to my Rice Krispies.
* Also, if you hear a grunting sound when you get up from a chair, you need to lose some weight.
* Likewise if you hear a ripping sound when you bend down. You’ve split your pants again.
* I like how they managed to skip fart sounds.
* I’m still stuck on the way our brains hurt when we eat ice cream too fast.
* CLIP: Our classic Tinnitus parody spot.
