--- title: "Scientist Says He’s Invented a Cure for Hiccups" description: "There appears to finally be a cure for hiccups — and yes, there is a purchase required. In an interview with The Atlantic, Ali Seifi, a University of Texas at San Antonio professor and hiccup expert, explained how his patented device, which he calls the HiccAway, works. While humanity has long been plagued by these phantom […]" date: "2023-02-24" modified: "2023-02-24" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientist-hiccup-cure" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "diaphragm" - "hiccups" - "neurology" - "vocal cords" --- # Scientist Says He’s Invented a Cure for Hiccups ![Thanks to a Texan scientist, tere appears to finally be a medically-backed cure for hiccups — and yes, there is a purchase required.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* There appears to finally be a cure for hiccups — and yes, there is a purchase required. In an [interview with *The Atlantic*](), University of Texas at San Antonio professor and hiccup expert Ali Seifi sings the praises of his patented device, the HiccAway. While humanity has long been plagued by these phantom spasms, medical science still struggles to explain their cause. We do know, however, *what* happens to the body when hiccups occur — and it's treating those symptoms that Seifi is after. The gist goes like this: our diaphragms spasm, which causes both a rapid inhalation of air and a sudden closing of the glottis, which is the medical term for the space between vocal cords — that "hic" sound that accompanies hiccups comes from the glottis, *The Atlantic* notes — and then the lengthy vagus nerve, which runs from the brain to the chest and diaphragm, makes the spasms repeat. Seifi's device, which is admittedly a fancy straw that he says provides the exact right amount of pressure to stop hiccups, was created after the neurointensivist (say that five times fast and it may just cure your hiccups) studied existing remedies to see which ones worked best. "All of the current home remedies have science behind them," the good doctor told *The Atlantic*. "All of them are valid!" The $14 HiccAway straw, which has a small hole at the bottom and a larger one at the top, builds on those home remedies by using a physics trick known as Bernoulli's Principle, *The Atlantic* notes, but in reverse. "Imagine you have a water hose and you open the faucet," Seifi told the magazine. "If you put half your thumb in front of the hose, the flow stays the same, but by changing the diameter the speed of the fluid changes; it ejects more." As the [patent application for the HiccAway notes](), the exact science at play with the magic straw requires a lot of physics and diaphragm pressure language best left to the experts. "The creator of HiccAway has already figured out all of the details, you just have to use this groundbreaking hiccup treatment to understand that it doesn’t matter how it works," the patent application reads, "just that it works." The product has already picked up some high-profile boosters. Last year, Seifi appeared on "Shark Tank" and convinced Mark Cuban to pony up an investment of $250,000. Until someone sends us a HiccAway straw to test for ourselves, we'll have to take their word for it — but as with anyone else who's ever suffered a maddening bout of hiccups, we'll try anything. **More on body hacks:** [*Scientists Growing Skin That Can Be Slipped on Like a Glove*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()