Doctor reveals chilling sound people make if they have less than 24 hours left of life

Without getting too morbid, death comes for us all.

As the great Benjamin Franklin used to say, there are two inevitabilities in life - death and taxes.

Our lives can be over in the blink of an eye, and whether it’s cut tragically short or we pass away at the age of 100 in our sleep, we're not on this mortal coil for as long as you'd think. Unless you've got a 'death clock' installed, it tends to creep up on us when we least expect it.

Now, one doctor has revealed the 'chilling' sound someone makes if they have less than 24 hours left.

The death rattle is a perfectly natural process (Cavan Images / Raffi Maghdessian / Getty)

You might've heard of a death rattle, which is a noise that comes near death. According to former medical student, PhD candidate, and nuclear medicine resident Dr Paulien Moyaert, there's a scientific reason why we make a death rattle.

In an informative YouTube video, Dr Moyaert explains that around 23 hours before death, someone will start making moaning, snoring, and rattling sounds. As for what causes it, she says: "This occurs because as consciousness decreases, patients lose their ability to swallow and clear oral secretions."

"Air moves over these pooled secretions resulting in noisy breathing. Some people say that the death rattle is the lungs’ attempt to breathe through a layer of saliva."

Dr Moyaert reiterates that while the death rattle might not sound particularly pleasant, it doesn't hurt: "It is important to know that this is not distressing for the patient because they are non-responsive and deeply asleep at this point."

As it might sound like they're choking or drowning, doctors will often administer drugs to make a death rattle sound less horrifying to those around instead of for the benefit of the patient. They might also turn people onto their side to help move the secretions and soften the sound of the death rattle.

Many in the comments thanked Moyaert for her video, with one writing: "My friend is dying in Florida and her daughter is keeping me updated. She referenced a ‘death rattle' in one of her updates and I wasn't sure what that was. Thank you for explaining it."

Another said, "Thank you. I am alone with my dying mother right now and this helped me know that it is normal," and a third concluded, "I have sat with two family members and heard this sound. It is horrible, and makes you feel like you should do something."

At least if you're around a loved one and hear the chilling sound of a death rattle, you know it's a perfectly natural part of the death process.