Curious Kids: why are burps so loud? (2024)

Clare Collins, University of Newcastle

Disclosure statement

Clare Collins is affiliated with the Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, the University of Newcastle, NSW. She is an NHMRC Senior Research and Gladys M Brawn Research Fellow. She has received research grants from NHMRC, ARC, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Meat and Livestock Australia, Diabetes Australia, Heart Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, nib foundation, Rijk Zwaan Australia and Greater Charitable Foundation. She has consulted to SHINE Australia, Novo Nordisk, Quality Bakers, the Sax Institute and the ABC. She was a team member conducting systematic reviews to inform the Australian Dietary Guidelines update and 2017 evidence review on dietary patterns for the Heart Foundation.

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University of Newcastle provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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Curious Kids: why are burps so loud? (3)

Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au You might also like the podcast Imagine This, a co-production between ABC KIDS listen and The Conversation, based on Curious Kids.

Why are burps so loud? - Byron, age 6, Sydney.

That’s a great question Byron. Some burps can be really loud, but they can be quiet too. How loud a burp is depends of a few factors, like how much gas is in your stomach to burp up and the structure of your food pipe that the burp travels along before it leaves your mouth. Let’s look at burps in a bit more detail.

What is a burp?

“Burp” is the word that describes the release of gas that builds up in your stomach and food pipe after eating and drinking. The food pipe, also called the gullet, has the scientific name oesophagus. The oesophagus is a muscular tube, about the length of a ruler, that joins the stomach to the back of your throat.

Where does the ‘burp’ noise come from?

If you open your mouth wide in front of a mirror, you can see a flap of tissue hanging down at the back of your throat. This is called the epiglottis. When you swallow, the epiglottis tips back to block off the windpipe that leads down to your lungs and that means the opening to your food pipe is now clear. (The epiglottis is a bit like a traffic controller.)

The noise made when you burp comes from gas that is trapped in your stomach and upper oesophagus when the food pipe is shut. This gas is under pressure, especially when there is a lot of it. As the pressurised gas flows up the food pipe, over the surface of the upper esophagus and past the epiglottis, it makes the surface of the upper part of your oesophagus rattle and vibrate. It is a bit like windows that rattle during a windy storm. The other factor is that because the oesophagus is long and round, the noise echoes as it travels up the food pipe.

Can you make yourself burp more loudly or quietly?

Take an empty cardboard tube from inside a roll of lunch wrap, or a toilet roll. Put your lips over the end and softly hum. This makes a louder noise compared to when you just hum without the tube, because of the echo. Now do it again, but put a lot of power into your hum. The noise is much louder. Forcing more air into the tube makes a louder echo. This is why bigger burps are noisier.

Whether you can make yourself burp more loudly or softly depends on how big your food pipe is and how much gas you have in there. Windows rattle more during a wild storm compared to when there is a gentle breeze blowing.

If you drink a small glass of soda water then you will only have a small amount of gas from the bubbles of carbon dioxide gas in the soda to burp up, but if you drink a whole can and take lots of gulps so you swallow more air and you can hold on so you burp all the gas out in one go, then you can produce a really loud burp.

Babies have small food pipes and small stomachs and produce burps that are more quiet than burps from children and adults.

Where does the gas come from?

The gas comes from a few different places. It can be from air that you swallow when you eat and drink which ends up in your stomach. Some people swallow more air if they eat too fast or when they drink from a straw. The “fizz” in soft drinks is the gas carbon dioxide and some other gasses are produced in your intestines during digestion.

Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au

Curious Kids: why are burps so loud? (5)

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  • Health
  • Sound
  • Curious Kids
  • Human body
  • Burping
  • Burps
Curious Kids: why are burps so loud? (2024)

FAQs

Curious Kids: why are burps so loud? ›

The noise made when you burp comes from gas that is trapped in your stomach and upper oesophagus when the food pipe is shut. This gas is under pressure, especially when there is a lot of it.

How do you burp insanely loud? ›

Make a straight pathway from your stomach to your mouth by extending your shoulders upward and stretching your back. You want to allow the gas travel as smoothly as possible from your stomach out in order to produce the loudest burp. Release the burp. Let the accumulated gas go all at once.

What are burps facts for kids? ›

A burp — sometimes called a belch — is nothing but gas. When you eat or drink, you don't just swallow food or liquid. You also swallow air at the same time. The air we breathe contains gases, like nitrogen (say: NY-truh-jen) and oxygen (say: AHK-sih-jen).

How to stop burp noise? ›

8 ways to stop burping
  1. Lie on your side.
  2. Take an antacid.
  3. Drink ginger tea.
  4. Sip chamomile tea.
  5. Chew on fennel seeds.
  6. Take an anti-gas medication.
  7. Don't eat or drink too quickly.
  8. Walk around or do light cardio.
Dec 18, 2020

What is the strange burping sound? ›

Borborygmi may also be a sign of food intolerance, such as lactose intolerance. Stomach noises from food intolerances are often accompanied by other symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, and flatulence.

What causes extremely loud burps? ›

Most belching is caused by swallowing excess air. This air most often never even reaches the stomach. Instead, it builds up in the esophagus. You may swallow excess air if you eat or drink too fast, talk while you eat, chew gum, suck on hard candies, drink carbonated beverages, or smoke.

Are burps supposed to be loud? ›

Some burps can be really loud, but they can be quiet too. How loud a burp is depends of a few factors, like how much gas is in your stomach to burp up and the structure of your food pipe that the burp travels along before it leaves your mouth.

Why is my 12 year old burping so much? ›

Excessive burping is often due to the foods and drinks that a person consumes. It can also result from behavioral conditions, such as aerophagia and supragastric belching, or issues relating to the digestive tract, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

What age do you stop burping your child? ›

Most babies will outgrow the need to be burped by 4-6 months of age. You can often tell that a baby needs to be burped if he or she is squirmy or pulling away while being fed. This being said, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents try to burp their baby: When a nursing mother switches breasts or.

Why can't I burp but fart a lot? ›

If a person can't burp, they may have retrograde cricopharyngeal dysfunction. People with this condition do not have the ability or find it very difficult to belch or burp due to tight cricopharyngeus muscle. This leads to abdominal and chest discomfort, abdominal fullness, and excessive flatulence.

Is it okay to burp loudly? ›

Burping, inherently, is not considered bad manners. Letting everyone around you know that you are burping with that sound and that smell is bad manners. So basically a loud burp in a public place.

Is there a way to burp quietly? ›

There is little you can do to stop a burp. You can be discreet by muffling a belch or holding it in for a few seconds until you're in a more private setting. Or you could just let it out, loud and proud.

What to drink to stop burping? ›

Drink ginger tea after eating. Ginger may help relieve gastrointestinal irritation and prevent stomach acid from flowing back up the esophagus. Chew fennel seeds after your meals. Though not backed by research, fennel is thought to help expel gas from the intestinal tract and assist digestion.

What is it called when you hate the sound of burping? ›

Misophonia refers to strong and negative emotional reactions to sounds that most people do not notice, such as chewing or breathing.

What noise does a burp make? ›

If you forcibly push the burp through, it increases the pressure in your esophagus, causing more intense vibrations and making the burp louder – more like a “BUURRRPP” or a “BRAAAPPP!” These are the belches that usually make your parents cringe and your friends give you high-fives.

What is a GERD burp? ›

GER can cause indigestion, which includes symptoms, such as heartburn and burping. In the case of GERD, a person may experience supragastric burping. This is an unconscious, learned behavior in which people suction in and release air in a belch to try to relieve their symptoms.

How loud is the biggest burp? ›

Winter — who goes by Kimycola on TikTok — produced a 107.3-decibel blast to break the record, according to Guinness World Records. She barely squeaked by the previous record of 107, set in 2009, but that doesn't matter. She's louder than a subway train.

Why can't I burp loudly? ›

Inability to burp is a dysfunction of the cricopharyngeal muscle failing to recognise and release the trapped gas below upper oesophageal sphincter leading to retrograde dysfunction of the cricopharyngeal muscle.

How do you silence a burp? ›

How to stop burping
  1. Walk around or do light aerobics after eating. ...
  2. Lie on your side or try a knees-to-chest position like the wind-relieving pose until the gas passes.
  3. Take an antacid to neutralize stomach acid and prevent heartburn, which can cause burping. ...
  4. Take an anti-gas medication like simethicone (Gas-X).
Sep 14, 2018

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