You may also be asked to perform a breathing test. epiglottitis, which is a condition where the tissues surrounding your windpipes are inflamedĪ doctor may use a chest X-ray to diagnose what’s causing your wheezing when it occurs for the first time.During expiration, the sound intensity can diminish somewhat. These sounds are low to moderate sound intensity (volume) with a low-pitch (200-600 Hz) and with a rustling quality. bronchiolitis, which is an infection that causes inflammation in the smallest air passages in your lungs called bronchioles Vesicular lung sounds are the most common auscultated sounds, usually heard over most of the chest wall.chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung diseases that can affect your breathing and airflow.respiratory tract infection, such as pneumonia.'Stridor in infants, particularly without any associated illness, should always be checked out by a physician. Stridor usually indicates an obstruction or narrowing in the upper airway, outside of the chest cavity. bronchitis, which is inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes Less musical sounding than a wheeze, stridor is a high-pitched, turbulent sound that can happen when a child inhales or exhales.Most of these conditions have a spectrum of severity from mild to life threatening.Ĭauses that can potentially be more severe may include: The whistling sound occurs when air is pushed through narrowed airways. Wheezing is often caused by inflammation in your throat or lungs. Like wheezing, it can occur when you breathe in, out, or both. Stridor, a higher-pitched sound, can indicate an obstruction in or below the voice box. When inspiratory wheezing is heard over the neck, this indicates a narrowing in the large, upper airways in the neck. Inspiratory wheezing often accompanies expiratory wheezing when heard over the lungs, specifically in an acute exacerbation of asthma. To diagnose the type of wheezing, a doctor typically uses a stethoscope to hear if it’s loudest over your lungs or neck.

You can have either expiratory wheezing, inspiratory wheezing, or both. Inspiratory wheezing occurs when you inhale. If the airway is very reduced, breathing may be silent and not produce a wheezing sound.

Your peak expiratory flow rate measures how fast you can exhale. It commonly occurs with conditions like asthma but can have other causes.Įxpiratory wheezing may indicate that your peak expiratory flow rate is reduced. If wheezing is loud enough, you may be able to hear it without using a stethoscope.Įxpiratory wheezing often indicates narrowing in the small airways or a mild blockage in all or part of your airway, known as an airway obstruction. Some wheezing may require a stereoscope to detect. There are two types of wheezing - inspiratory (when you inhale, or breathe in) and expiratory (when you exhale, or breathe out).

Asthma lung sounds