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Breath Sounds

Medically reviewed by Thomas Johnson, PA-C — By April Kahn — Updated on October 17, 2022Sometimes health conditions or foreign objects in the lungs can cause changes in your breath sounds, such as wheezing or crackles.

What are breath sounds

Breath sounds come from the lungs when you breathe in and out. A person can hear these sounds using a stethoscope or simply when breathing. Sometimes, irregular breath sounds might indicate a health issue involving your lungs, such as:obstructioninflammationinfectionfluid in the lungsasthma Listening to breath sounds is an important part of diagnosing many different medical conditions.

Types of breath sounds

A typical breath sound is similar to the sound of air. However, irregular breath sounds may include:rhonchi, low pitched breath sounds that are similar to snoringcrackles, high pitched breath sounds that are similar to popping or snappingwheezing, a high pitched whistling sound that occurs due to the narrowing of the bronchial tubesstridor, a harsh, vibratory sound that occurs due to the narrowing of the upper airway, heard most prominently when inhaling A doctor can use a medical instrument called a stethoscope to hear breath sounds. They can hear the breath sounds by placing the stethoscope on your chest, back, or rib cage, or under your collarbone.

What are the causes of irregular breath sounds

Irregular breath sounds are usually indicators of health issues in the lungs or airways. The most common causes of these breath sounds are:pneumoniaCOVID-19 infectionheart failurechronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), such as emphysemaasthmabronchitisforeign body or obstruction in the lungs or airways Various factors cause the sounds described above:Rhonchi: These sounds occur when air tries to pass through bronchial tubes that contain fluid or mucus.Crackles: These sounds occur if the small air sacs in the lungs fill with fluid and there’s air movement in the sacs, such as when you’re breathing. The air sacs fill with fluid when a person has pneumonia or heart failure.Wheezing: This sound occurs when the bronchial tubes become inflamed and narrowed.Stridor: This sound occurs when the upper airway narrows.

When are breath sounds a medical emergency

Go to the emergency room or call local emergency services if breathing difficulty comes on suddenly, is severe, or if someone stops breathing. Cyanosis, a bluish color of skin and mucous membranes due to lack of oxygen, can occur along with atypical breath sounds. Cyanosis involving the lips or the face is also a medical emergency. A doctor will also look for the following signs of an emergency:nasal flaring, which is an enlargement of the opening of the nostrils when breathing that doctors see in babies and young childrenabdominal breathing, which is the use of the abdominal muscles to assist breathingaccessory muscle use, which is the use of the neck and chest wall muscles to assist breathingstridor, which indicates an upper airway obstruction

Finding out the cause

A doctor will review your medical history to determine the cause of your atypical breath sounds. Your medical history includes any current or past medical conditions and any medications you take. Tell a doctor when you noticed the atypical breath sounds and what you were doing before you heard them. Be sure to mention any other symptoms you may be experiencing. The doctor will order one or several tests to determine the cause of the atypical sounds. These tests can include:CT scanchest X-rayblood testspulmonary function testsputum culture A doctor can use a pulmonary function test to measure how much air you inhale and exhale and how efficiently you inhale and exhale. A sputum cultureis a test for detecting foreign organisms in the lungs’ mucus, such as atypical bacteria or fungi. For this test, a doctor may ask you to cough and collect the sputum you cough up. The doctor will then send this sample to a lab for analysis.

Treatment options for atypical breath sounds

Treatment options for atypical breath sounds depend on your diagnosis. A doctor considers the cause and severity of your symptoms when recommending a treatment. Doctors often prescribe medications to clear up infections or to open the airways. However, in severe cases, such as fluid in the lungs or an obstruction in the airways, hospitalization may be necessary. If you have asthma, COPD, or bronchitis, a doctor will probably prescribe breathing treatments to open the airways. People with asthma may get a prescription for an inhaler or other medications to use daily. This can prevent asthma attacks and decrease inflammation of the airways.

The takeaway

Call local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency room if someone you know stops breathing or has:sudden difficulty breathingsevere breathing difficultycyanosis involving the lips or the face You may want to make an appointment with a doctor if you think you’re having other symptoms of breathing issues, such as atypical breath sounds. Having an open conversation with a doctor can help them identify any health conditions in the early stages. Last medically reviewed on October 17, 2022

How we vetted this article

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.Patel PH, et al. (2022). Wheezing.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482454Pramono RXA, et al. (2017). Automatic adventitious respiratory sound analysis: A systematic review.
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177926Shen F, et al. (2022). Sputum analysis.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563195/Sicari V, et al. (2022). Stridor.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525995/Zimmerman B, et al. (2022). Lung sounds.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537253/Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. Current Version Oct 18, 2022 By April Kahn Edited By Heather Hobbs Medically Reviewed By Thomas Johnson, PA-C Copy Edited By Sofia Santamarina Sep 18, 2019 By April Kahn VIEW ALL HISTORY Share this articleMedically reviewed by Thomas Johnson, PA-C — By April Kahn — Updated on October 17, 2022

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