More than 37 million people have sinus infections every year in the US. Usually, the lining of the sinuses becomes inflamed, trapping air and pus and other secretions and leading to pain, headaches and congestion. Because the inflammation is often caused by upper-respiratory infections, people with asthma and allergies are more vulnerable than others to chronic sinusitis. Keeping the sinuses healthy and infection-free requires ventilation - keeping air flowing smoothly between the sinus and nasal cavities. In a study in The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, researchers examined this by comparing airflow in people when they hummed and when they quietly exhaled. Specifically, they looked to see if humming led to greater levels of exhaled nitric oxide, a gas produced in the sinuses. Ultimately, nitric oxides during humming rose 15-fold. Another study a year later in The European Respiratory Journal found a similar effect: Humming resulted in a large increase in nasal nitric oxide, "caused by a rapid gas exchange in the paranasal sinuses.”
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