Throat-clear

A throat-clear is a sound made at the back of the throat^[1] by tightly constricting the laryngopharyngeal tissues and vibrating the palatoglossal arch and the vocal folds while exhaling thru the nose;^[2] this may be done with the mouth slightly opened or completely closed.

The throat-clear is articulated as a single-syllable exclamation, written onomatopoeiacally as "hem";^[3] or it may be articulated as a double-syllable sound, written as "ahem",^[4] which is expressed by inhaling slightly and then exhaling more forcibly.

Paralanguage

The deliberately executed throat-clear is a nonverbal, paralingual form of metacommunication.^[5]

Upper respiratory

The throat-clear may be articulated consciously or unconsciously^[6] as a symptom of a number of laryngopharyngeal (upper respiratory tract) ailments.^[7]

Voice

Continual throat-clearing is a symptom of chronically dry vocal chords, caused by of insufficiently produced amounts of mucus due to inadequate amounts of water, and excessive amounts of caffeine and alcohol.^[8]

References