Wheezing Lung Sounds

Introduction

Welcome to our website's wheezing page. On this page we provide a description of wheezing, including its clinical significance. We then compare common high-pitched wheezes to rhonchi (lower-pitched wheezes) using audio recordings and text. Finally, we provide links to the wheeze lung sound training lessons available on this website.

Our wheezing lesson can be found in this course. Secondly, our reference index is designed to provide quick access to stridor sounds, with audio tracks, listening guides and waveforms. Use this link for quick reference to heart and lung sounds.

Wheeze

Wheeze is a sign of breathing problems. Wheeze sounds are most often apparent during exhaling a breath. They may also be sometimes heard when the patient inhales.

Listen

Listening Tips

Practice differentiating high-pitched wheeze from low-pitched wheeze using these audio recordings. Additional information and recordings are available in our lung sounds courses and reference guide.

Audio Playback

The patient's position is seated.

Waveform

Compare To Rhonchi

Compare high-pitched wheezing to a low-pitched wheeze (rhonchi).

The patient's position is seated.

Respiratory Sounds Reference Guide

Our auscultation reference guide provides quick access to this sound as well as many other adventitious sounds. Each sound is described also with an audio recording and waveform.

Lung Sounds Reference Guide

A List of Wheeze Causes

Causes of a wheeze can include these:

Asthma
Allergic reaction
Bronchial Abnormalities
Inhaling a foreign object into the lungs
COPD
Gastroesophageal reflux disease
Smoking
Heart failure
Medications
Viral infection

Quick Links to Other Breath Sounds

While we have many breath sound lessons and quick references on this website. Please use the links below.

Vesicular Breath Sounds
Bronchial Breath Sounds
Adventitious Breath Sounds
Adventitious Lung Sounds
Wheezing
Rhonchi
Fine and Coarse Crackles
Rales
Egophony
Auscultate
Auscultation Lung Sounds Audio

Related Lessons

Basics of Lung Sounds
The goal of this basic course in lung sounds is to improve auscultation observational skills. We focus on describing important breath sounds and in providing recordings of each. Many students find that waveform tracings aid in learning lung sounds; we have included dynamic (moving cursor) waveforms with each lesson. The anatomy pages use illustrations to reveal an example of each lung sound (anatomy not yet available on smartphones).

Lesson List

1	Vesicular - Normal
2	Crackles - Fine (Rales)
3	Crackles - Coarse (Rales)
4	Wheeze
5	Rhonchi - Low-Pitched Wheezes
6	Bronchial
7	Pleural Rubs
8	Bronchovesicular

Intermediate Lung Sounds
The goal of this intermediate course is to expand your observational skills when auscultating breath sounds. The course lessons include voiced sounds: bronchophony, egophony and whispered pectoriloquy. We also provide auscultation lessons on several types of wheezes, crackles and stridor. Each of these lung sound lessons includes audio, text and dynamic waveform. The anatomy pages use illustrations to reveal an example of each lung sound (anatomy not yet available on smartphones).

Lesson List

1	Vesicular - Diminished
2	Bronchophony - Healthy
3	Bronchophony - Abnormal
4	Egophony - e
5	Egophony - a
6	Whispered Pectoriloquy - Healthy
7	Whispered Pectoriloquy - Abnormal
8	Wheeze - Expiratory
9	Wheeze - Monophonic
10	Wheeze - Polyphonic
11	Crackles - Early Inspiratory (Rales)
12	Crackles - Late Inspiratory (Rales)
13	Stridor

Authors and Reviewers

Authored by Diane Wrigley, PA
Medically reviewed by Dr. Barbara Erickson, PhD, RN, CCRN.

Authors and Reviewers

Heart sounds by Dr. Jonathan Keroes, MD and David Lieberman, Developer, Virtual Cardiac Patient.
Lung sounds by Diane Wrigley, PA
Respiratory cases: William French
David Lieberman, Audio Engineering
Heart sounds mentorship by W. Proctor Harvey, MD
Special thanks for the medical mentorship of Dr. Raymond Murphy
Reviewed by Dr. Barbara Erickson, PhD, RN, CCRN.
Last Update: 12/11/2022

Sources

Heart and Lung Sounds Reference Library Diane S. Wrigley
Publisher: PESI
Impact Patient Care: Key Physical Assessment Strategies and the Underlying Pathophysiology
Diane S Wrigley & Rosale Lobo
Practical Clinical Skills: Lung Sounds
Essential Lung Sounds Diane S. Wrigley, PA-C
Published by MedEdu LLC
PESI Faculty - Diane S Wrigley
Case Profiles in Respiratory Care 3rd Ed, 2019
William A.French
Published by Delmar Cengage
Essential Lung Sounds by William A. French
Published by Cengage Learning, 2011
Understanding Lung Sounds Steven Lehrer, MD
Clinical Heart Disease W Proctor Harvey, MD
Clinical Heart Disease
Laennec Publishing; 1st edition (January 1, 2009)