A hiccup refers to the involuntary contraction of the diaphragm
These contractions may repeat for several times until it stops. Let us get into more details of why this happens
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle between the lungs and the stomach
The function of the diaphragm is to pull air into the lungs when you inhale and push air out of the lungs when you exhale
Sometimes, the contraction of the diaphragm goes out of rhythm. This is when hiccups occur
When the diaphragm contracts irregularly, it makes people suck in the air more suddenly
This also causes the vocal cords to close suddenly while the excess air was going in through the mouth
This causes the vocal cords to produce a sound, which we call a hiccup
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