CIEMT Patient Assessment Practice Exam

Asthma causes inflammation and narrowing of the airways, so air must squeeze through constricted bronchioles as you breathe out. That turbulent flow produces a high-pitched, musical whistling sound—wheezing—that’s often most noticeable during expiration, and it can be present during inspiration if the obstruction is severe. This sound is a classic clue of bronchospasm and small-airway involvement.

To help differentiate, other common lung sounds point to different problems: rales (crackles) come from fluid in the alveoli, as seen in congestive heart failure or pneumonia; rhonchi are coarse, snoring noises from secretions in larger airways, often improving with coughing; stridor is a harsh, vibrating sound indicating upper airway obstruction, such as swelling or a foreign body. In this context, the sound most typically associated with asthma is wheezing.