4 Awkward Noises That Are Completely Normal For Your Body To Make
Got crackly knees or a gurgle in your throat? Here’s what those strange sounds mean
Ever hear your ankle click when you walk?
It might sound alarming, but it actually can have an innocent cause: Suffer a few sprained ankles as a kid, and your joint could trap a little extra air.
That air is released when you take a step—causing the clicking noise.
Turns out, there are plenty of noises your body makes that can set off alarm bells for no reason.
Here, 4 strange noises that are completely normal for your body to make. (Plus, 12 Sounds You Don’t Want to Hear.)
Popping or crackling knees
Do your knees crack every time you bend down? That doesn’t mean you need to rush to a doctor, or even that you’ll have knee problems as you age.
In fact, it probably means that nothing is wrong with you at all.
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology recently used a new acoustic device to listen in on both healthy and injured knees as they bent.
What they found is that even the healthy knees made cacophonous popping and cracking sounds.
Related: Should You Worry If Your Knees Crack When You Squat?
That said, there are certain times when noisy knees can signal a bigger problem, like when they come with swelling or pain. So if your cracking knees are also hurting, see your doctor.
A gurgle in your throat
It always happens at the wrong moment, like right when you open your mouth to say something in a quiet room: a loud, embarrassing gurgle in your throat like there’s a frog just waiting to jump out.
The reason? You probably just ate something too fast.
Just like a burp, throat gurgles let out excess air from your stomach. When you eat too fast, chew gum, or drink something carbonated, there’s a good chance you’re swallowing air.
That air comes back up as a burp or a gurgle, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Still, it should only be an every once in a while thing.
If your throat is constantly gurgling, check in with a doctor to make sure you don’t have a more serious problem, like GERD or dysphagia, a condition in which you have problems swallowing.
Related: 8 Things That Happen When You Finally Stop Drinking Diet Soda
A rumbling stomach
This one happens so often that you probably don’t even think of a growling stomach as weird—unless it’s really loud, that is, and in the middle of an important meeting at work.
But even if your rumbles are nearly deafening, there’s probably nothing to worry about.
That’s because your stomach always grumbles louder in stressful situations: Stress causes your stomach muscles to contract, making your stomach growl, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
A whistle in your nose
Sometimes you’ll hear a high-pitched whistle from your nose, which probably means that you’re congested. Blowing your nose should clear it up.
There are, however, some times when it can indicate a more serious problem like a deviated septum or a hole in your septum, according to the Mayo Clinic.
So if your nose whistles consistently, then you might want to head to an ear, nose, and throat specialist.
Related: Exactly What To Eat When You Have A Cold Or Flu
The article 5 Awkward Noises That Are Totally Normal For Your Body To Make originally ran on Prevention.com.
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