Hypersensitivity pneumonitis: Chronic inflammation of the lungs caused by such things as moldy hay and bird droppings may cause wheezing.Acid reflux: It may not seem obvious, but acid reflux is a fairly common cause of wheezing.Pulmonary embolism: Blood clots in the legs may break off and travel to the lungs, very rarely causing wheezing.Heart failure: This can cause fluid to back up in the lungs.Lung cancer: Obstruction of the airway by a tumor can lead to a wheezing sound.Viral infections: Many viral infections can cause wheezing, especially in children.While cystic fibrosis is most commonly diagnosed in early childhood, it is sometimes diagnosed in adulthood. Bronchiectasis: Widening of the airways, often due to childhood infections or cystic fibrosis, is another cause of wheezing.Wheezing related to foreign body inhalation is usually localized to one side of the chest. Inhaling (aspirating) a foreign body: Choking can sometimes cause wheezing if an inhaled object does not completely obstruct the airways.

It is often caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Bronchiolitis: This is an infection that involves the bronchioles (the smallest airways) and is most common in children.Bronchitis: This can be acute (lasting only a few days) or chronic (lasting weeks to months to years).Anaphylaxis: This medical emergency is a severe allergic reaction (often due to a bee sting, medications, or eating nuts or shellfish) that causes swelling in the throat.It is best heard in the lower anterior lungs and lateral chest, during both inspiration and expiration. Potential causes include tuberculosis and pneumonia. The sound quality is considered a harsh grating or creaking. The pleural rub sound results from the movement of inflamed pleural surfaces against one another during chest wall movement. Fine crackles sound quality is like hair rubbing near the ear and may be heard in congestive heart failure and pulmonary fibrosis. Coarse crackles sound quality is low-pitched and moist it may be heard in pulmonary oedema and bronchitis. Crackles can be further categorised as coarse or fine. It is commonly heard in the bases of the lung lobes during inspiration. The cause of crackles can be from air passing through fluid, pus or mucus. The sound crackles create are fine, short, high-pitched, intermittently crackling sounds. It may be heard in asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.Ĭrackles are also known as alveolar rales. It is commonly heard in the lungs during expiration. Alternately, what we often refer to as rhonchi is the sonorous wheeze, which refers to a deep, low-pitched rumbling or coarse sound, as air moves through tracheal/bronchial passages in the presence of mucus or respiratory secretions. This refers to the high-pitched, whistle-like sound.

The classic wheeze may be referred to as a sibilant wheeze. This is caused by air passing through an obstructed, narrow airway. The sound of a wheeze is a high-pitched, continuous musical sound. It’s typically loudest over the anterior neck, as air moves turbulently over a partially-obstructed, upper airway. Stridor may be heard in conditions such as croup and foreign body obstruction.

The cause of this sound is generally the partial obstruction of the larynx or trachea. Stridor is a continuous, high-pitched, crowing sound heard predominantly on inspiration.

Lung sounds wheezing