It never occurred to me that a person couldn’t burp, but it’s a rare condition that was only diagnosed in the last ten years. The host of Vox podcast Unexplainable, Sally Helms suffers from this condition and shared how it affected her life, and how a simple Botox injection to the upper esophageal sphincter in the throat, right behind the larynx, can cure it!
Another sufferer is a sky diver, which caused serious problems for him when he flew into the sky and couldn’t burp.
The show has a transcript, which is worth looking at, if only for the adorable and wholesome times when Sally discovered her burps. 🙂
SALLY: Okay, so also often during this time, I would like get into this really weird position. Like I would, I would do the basically like backing out in the car thing, but I would put my arm on the wall and then I would like, turn my head around and like, dip my chin and crank my head. Um, my family was very supportive, but they were also confused. Like, I burped while I was hanging out with my sister and my dad.
SALLY: Are you proud of me?
ELIZA: That was a real burp!
SALLY: I just did a little sputter burp, and you heard, do you, are you proud?
ELIZA: Oh my God. Yeah. But why did you have to do it in that weird contortion?
SALLY: I have to to make it come out.
ELIZA: Wow.
<<burp>>
<<laughter>>
MARK HELM (SALLY’S DAD): Good going, Sal!
ELIZA: That was such a weird one!
MARK: Did it come out?
SALLY: Yeah. Well…
BTW, if you suffer from this condition, join the r/noburp Reddit.