There’s nothing more unnerving than seeing a man scrunch up his face, squeeze his eyes shut, and clamp his nose trying desperately to stifle a sneeze. That is, unless it’s the actual sneeze itself. Kids have described their dads’ sneezes using terms like “earthquake,” “booming,” and “blast-off!” The dreaded “dad sneeze” is a full-body event. Of course, those in the fall-out zone are left with ringing ears, confusion, and shock. So why do dads sneeze like that? Some say it’s one of life’s mysteries, like where do all the missing socks go? Others say it could be biological and evolutionary, probably to scare off unwanted beasts. That’s where the experts come in. “A sneeze is basically a protective reflect designed to clear irritants from the nose and upper airway,” explained allergist Dr. Zachary Rubin. These irritants stimulate sensory nerves in the nasal lining, which send a signal to the brain stem. That, Rubin says, sets off a rapid-fire sequence: “A deep breath, closure of the vocal cords, contraction of the chest and abdominal muscles, followed by a forceful release of air through the nose and mouth.” When it comes to noise, there’s no such thing as a standard-issue sneeze. Rubin says the decibel level can be influenced by lung volume, the strength of the respiratory muscles, the anatomy of the nose, mouth and throat and how much someone constricts or opens their airway during the sneeze. Men tend to have larger lungs and airways and can generate greater respiratory pressures, so it's conceivable that this could translate into a more forceful sneeze. However, says Rubin, there’s no compelling evidence showing that men are biologically programmed to sneeze dramatically louder than women. Men may also face a different social expectation when it comes to suppressing a sneeze. They don’t get judged for the volume — they get judged for looking like they’re managing it. Men are taught to hide visible effort, so a stifled sneeze from a grown man is interpreted as being fussy. There may be a little performance involved as well. Once someone has sneezed loudly for 40 years, there’s not much incentive to suddenly let out a dainty little “achoo.” The truly dad-specific phenomenon is the “AHHHHHH-CHOOOOOO!” That’s less biology and more decades of commitment to the bit.
