Why do we get hiccups?
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What sound do you think your hiccups make?
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Transcript
Have you ever felt a little hiccup jump out? Why does that happen?
Under your lungs is a muscle that helps you breathe. Sometimes it squeezes suddenly when it does not mean to.
That quick squeeze pulls air into your mouth. Then a little flap in your throat closes fast and makes the hic sound.
Hiccups can come after eating too fast or laughing a lot. Usually, the breathing muscle soon goes back to its calm work.
So that's why hiccups pop out. A breathing muscle gives a quick surprise squeeze, then settles down.
For grown-ups: the science
Hiccups happen when a breathing muscle suddenly squeezes and air makes a quick hic sound.
The diaphragm is the main breathing muscle beneath the lungs. A hiccup is an involuntary diaphragm contraction followed by rapid closure of the glottis, which creates the sound. Common triggers include eating quickly, swallowing air, laughing, and stomach stretching; most hiccups stop on their own.