Urethral Sound

A urethral sound is a long, thin rod that is inserted into the urethral opening. Sounds are often made of stainless steel, but can also be made of plastic, glass, or titanium. Silicone is a softer, more flexible material that is also used to make sounds.

Urethral sounding has existed as a medical procedure designed to investigate urinary obstruction and bladder stones has existed for thousands of years. At some point, it came to be practiced as a kink and for sexual pleasure.

People who enjoy urethral sounding often describe it as a distinctive sensation of pressure and stimulation from inside the penis, rather than the external rubbing or squeezing associated with masturbation. Because a sound presses against areas inside the urethra that cannot normally be touched directly, the sensation may feel unusually deep or intense. Some people compare it to the relaxing sensation of warm water hitting the head of the penis, but much stronger.

Types of Urethral Sounds

Urethral sounds come in different shapes and can be made of different materials. The ones you are most likely to see used in a kinky or sexual context include:

• Straight sounds: Smooth, straight rods, that are usually made of stainless steel. They may have a slightly tapered or rounded tip.
• Hegar-style sounds/dilators: Usually gently curved or S-shaped and often double-ended, with each end a different diameter.
• Pratt-style sounds: Longer, heavier double-ended metal dilators with a shallow S-shape. Like Hegars, these originated as medical dilators but are also sold for kink use.
• Van Buren sounds: Long stainless-steel sounds with a pronounced J-shaped curved tip.
• Plug-style or glans-ring sounds. Much shorter toys intended to sit partly inside the urethral opening rather than resemble a long medical sound. Some incorporate a ring or other external section that prevents the toy from disappearing into the urethra.
• Rosebud or ball-tip sounds: A think shaft ending in a larger rounded or cylindrical “bud.” Rather than maintaining the same diameter along the whole length, the enlarged tip creates more localized sensation.
• Textured sounds: Recreational designs may have ridges, waves, ribs, beads or changes in diameter along the shaft to create different sensations.

Related Terms

• Urethral Sounding
• Soundtrix