Hiccups - Causes

Meningitis and glaucoma can irritate the meningeal branch of the vagus nerve, foreign bodies or hairs in the ear can irritate the auricular branch, pharyngitis can irritate the pharyngeal branch, and goiter or masses in the neck can irritate the recurrent laryngeal branch. Thoracic branch irritation by infection, tumors, reflux, ischemia, asthma, trauma or aortic aneurysm can also cause hiccups.

Reference: emedicine.com - Wilkes G [au]; Hemphill RR et al. [eds]. Hiccups, in eMedicine