screaming

Imagine this: you're sitting quietly at your desk at home, sipping an early morning cup of tea while the rain gently drizzles outside. Suddenly, you hear a loud scream which jolts you out of your serenity and into panic. Is someone in danger? Has there been an accident? Oh, no worries, it's just your spouse or neighbor violently screaming as they release what they seem to deem "the most important sneeze in history."

"AAAAAAAAAAH CHOOOO"

This type of "scream-sneeze" has haunted me my whole life. I've often wondered, "Why would anyone choose to sneeze that way?"

Apparently, I'm not alone in this complaint. In a funny back-and-forth clip from Wanging On, a show with Graham Norton and Maria McErlane, Norton exclaims, "You don't actually need to explode when you sneeze." McErlane adds, "Or the other way of sneezing is when they do it too 'tinily.' When they go 'I'm gonna sneeze…agu.'" Norton admits he does sometimes have a tiny sneeze, to which McErlane replies, "Do you? That's JUST as annoying!"

Graham Norton discusses the annoyance of a scream-sneeze. www.youtube.com, Wanging On

The commenters felt seen, though some a tad defensive. One demands, "It's satisfying. Leave me alone." Another adds, "Do you really think that it's voluntary to sneeze so violently that your knees buckle? I have to hold on to something to not fall down while I'm also hoping that I won't pee myself."

And for a counterpoint, this person loud-sneezes as a statement: "I grew up having my family call my sneezes 'prissy.' Now I sneeze loudly and they still complain. I’m just gonna sneeze the way I damn well want to."

The truth is, how people sneeze isn't just arbitrary or intentional. Doctors share there are reasons people sneeze differently. In contributing writer for Refinery 29 Cory Stieg's 2017 piece on the matter, she quotes Erich Voigt, an otolaryngologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, who explains, "Sneezes are very strong reflexes to clear the upper airway and are often spontaneous and involuntary, thus we cannot control the force." In other words, Stieg adds, "Everybody sneezes differently, depending on the size of their body and the strength of their muscles."

Voigt explains, "Some people let the force of the sneeze come through the nose, while others will allow the force out via the mouth, and for some it’s out of the nose and mouth. Each of these types will produce differing noises."

Why do we sneeze in the first place? www.youtube.com, KDKA CBS News

In a 2019 article for ABC.net, writer and former ABC staff member Sarah Motherwell asks if a person can actually control the loudness of their sneezes. First, she cites a doctor to explain why we even sneeze in the first place. She shares, "Professor Richard Harvey, St. Vincent’s and Macquarie University Hospitals, says it is triggered when the nerves in your nose detect a change in temperature or pain."

But whether or not a sneeze can be controlled is a mixed bag. On one hand, Harvey reiterates that "the loudness of a person's sneeze depends on lung capacity and size." However, it also depends on "how long they hold their breath." He also notes one can choose to sneeze with their mouth open or closed. A pinched-nose sneeze will be quieter, "but messier."

That said, Harvey makes it clear that one should "never hold in a sneeze" and gives horrifying examples of people who had extreme physical repercussions for attempting to do so.

In a piece for Popular Science, contributing writer R.J. Mackenzie backs up the notion that people shouldn't hold in a sneeze. And whether one can control it? Mackenzie goes into extra detail: "The 'shape' and 'floppiness' of our vocal cords and other soft tissue at the back of the throat influence whether or not we have a quiet or booming sneeze. Lung volume also determines how much air enters and leaves our chest during a sneeze, meaning no single physical measurement will predict sneeze volume."

Motherwell also cites a sociology lecturer from Murdoch University who goes a step further, claiming the loudness of a sneeze has to do with "class, gender, and culture." For example, in Japan, "loud sneezes are considered rude." She further notes, "Even in English-speaking countries, saying 'ah-choo' is the polite version of a sneeze rather than letting it rip."

Of course, Redditors also have thoughts on the matter. A post entitled, "People who scream when sneezing—why??" received nearly 400 comments. One shares, "My mother has to put her entire body and soul into a sneeze; it's like she's exorcising a demon every five minutes during hay fever season." And it's not just the older people, says one Redditor: "My 8-month-old does this. I don't think it's on purpose. Hearing a baby yell before sneezing is the cutest/funniest thing though."

Plenty are annoyed by tiny sneeze as well. "The opposite end of the spectrum are people who do those high-pitched cartoon Chihuahua sneezes." One admits they're one of those sneezers, but that they simply can't help it. "I used to sneeze like a normal person, I swear. A few years ago I got a really, really nasty sinus infection, and during it I inexplicably began to sneeze like a dainty cartoon poodle. I don't know why or what happened. It stuck, too, and I still don't know why."