Sounding kink. Also known as: Cock-stuffing, penis plugging, catheter fetish, urethral sounding. A sex act that commonly falls under the ‘medical play’ umbrella, sounding is a little-known kink. And it’s certainly not for the faint of heart.

While the most commonly used descriptor of ‘Sounding’ maintains the ignorance of those out-of-the-know, its synonyms – cock-stuffing, catheter fetish – leave little to the imagination. So what exactly is the sounding kink? And what does it involve?

Well, inserting a “sound” – commonly a long, thin surgical rod, either straight or curved (going by the terms Dittel or Van Buren respectively) – into the urethral passage. However, multiple implements can be appropriated as a ‘sound’ including silicone-based toys, or basically anything that is (hopefully, body safe and sterilised) slender enough to fit into such a tiny passage.

Outside of the medical world, where a sound is used to clear a blockage in the urethral package, sounding is a pretty niche kink that – wait for it, it’s revolutionary! – combines pain with pleasure. For a person with a cock, if the sound travels far enough, it can stimulate the prostate. But sounding can also be used for people with pussies – though less common.

Often sounding is used in a BDSM context, with the use of a curved Van Buren sound, the domme – or dom – can control the submissive’s erections. And once they do get hard – it hurts. A perfect accompaniment to the shame of being turned on. 

Perhaps – for cishet men in particular – it all comes back to the taboo of being penetrated, rather than being the penetrator. From our experience, we know that straight men can love being pegged, the act of anal sex, just as much as anyone. A former lover of the author’s once explained his love for pegging was due to the intimacy and closeness of being penetrated, how being able to wrap his legs around a woman and take HER in was something that made him feel erotically vulnerable. 

Trusting the person behind the dildo, just as trusting the person behind the sound, is crucial to experiencing pleasure from the penetration. Knowing that they will stop at any hint of genuine pain or discomfort, that they – like you – are taking part because they want you to experience intense pleasure from the sensation is what enables the receiver to relax into the feeling enough to relish in just that.  

Valerie August, KLE member, confirmed that the taboo behind penetration is what made her experience of sounding so delectable: “That taboo really gets me going too – I do a lot of pegging, and whilst its still terribly exciting and fun, I felt like sounding was pushing that taboo even further.”

August told us about her first and only sounding session, after a very experienced client requested it: “I was honest in that I had never done it, but that with his guidance I would be thrilled to try. He brought along his own kit, and talked me through the experience from beginning to end.” 

August stresses that trust is indeed an important component of the kink: “His trust in me and my skill, and my trust in his ability to guide me safely is what ensured we both got the most pleasure out of the moment possible.” 

“Not only was the act itself highly erotic, the subversion of our roles within the power play excited me in a way I hadn’t predicted,” August says, adding that she would be delighted to take part in a sounding session again.