So I’m sitting in the library, studying in silence, when all of a sudden someone a couple hundred feet away lets loose a sneeze that I’m sure, on a clear day, could be heard in a different state. My peaceful state of mind shattered, I began to wonder: Can you change the way you sneeze?
Is it something you learn? My father’s sneeze is so loud it can knock small objects in other rooms over, and if you listen closely, it sounds like he’s sneezing “god bless you”. Can he control how loudly he sneezes? Is it just something he does because it’s something he’s always done? I know it’s involuntary but, still, everyone has a very distinctive sneeze.
Google’s let me down, so I turn to the Teeming Millions for the answer that might very well save a few pants from being soiled in libraries.
Many years ago, I had a job where I was in an enclosed area, which apparently had tons of airborne mold and dust. As a result, I got into sneezing fits. My sneezes echoed, though, and would really irritate my coworkers… so I adapted.
What I do is, when I feel a sneeze coming on, I start breathing out. The effect of this is that my sneeze is extremely quiet- even people standing next to me assume that I just had a slight cough. I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s become second-nature.
No real answer here at all. My father’s the same, it’s like a hurricane. He’s a secondary school teacher and of course all the kids find this hilarious. It just annoys me, though. I’m convinced that it is an affectation, though by now it will probably be hard to unlearn. That’s just gut feeling, so I’d be grateful if someone could answer this conclusively.
Something else I’ve wondered about sneezing is if a person’s sneeze reveals anything about their character. Some people have loud, yelling sneezes, and some people have the most delicate sneezes. And the sneezes don’t always match up with the people.
When I sneeze, I say “Achoo!” My mother finds this very annoying and insists that it is an affectation. If I have enough warning that the sneeze is coming on, I can modify, stifle, or quiet it, but if the sneeze comes on too fast, or if I’m alone and there is no reason to suppress it, it still comes out as a big “Achoo!”
Thanks to Beconaze I don’t sneeze as much now, but when the allergy-monster is with me Mr Boppy and the cats get very annoyed. I used to think they were being silly since sneezing is involuntary, but if you don’t your hands full at the time, you can block your nose with your thumb and finger and stop it that way. Of course, you’re also blocking what can be a very satisfactory nosegasm, unfortunately.
Supplementary question: is there any way at all to sneeze without flinging your chewing gum across the room? (apart from the blocking method)
I have always held my sneazes in. I think what I’m doing is holding my breath while I sneeze. People have told me I’m going to “pop” something and hurt myself doing that, but I’ve been doing it almost two decades with no ill effects.
I make verrrry little noise when I sneeze. I can sneeze the normal way too though, so I guess it’s a conscious thing. Tell him to try my system.
Many years ago, I had a great big ol’ mouthful of chewed food…and a sneeze came up that wouldn’t be denied.
I realized – very consciously, very deliberately – that I had a choice to make. Either spew food all over the table, or suppress the sneeze.
I did it – and still do it to this day – pretty much the way lightnin’ and conczepts describe. I exhale till my lungs are nearly empty, and then, when the sneeze happens, it doesn’t have anything to work with. It feels sort of like a heavy cough.
It’s also really good to know during a paintball gunfight!
When I was a kid, I had bad allergies, and whenever I sneezed a good sized string of snot would come out of my nose, which was pretty annoying. My mom taught me to just overexaggerate the sneeze sound (consciously say ACHOO while I sneeze), and that completely solved it.
