Hi. Thanks for your query and an elucidate history. Read and understood that you have intermittent hiccoughs. Yes you can start with the internist and please discuss all the points I am going to give you to find the reason. The commonest reasons with its way to find the cause are: Ultrasonography of the abdomen or ing\flammed liver, also finds the pleural effusion. Anything that irritates the diaphragm can cause this. The Phrenic nerve comes all the way from the brain via neck and chest to reach the diaphragm. Hence the need to have CT scan of the neck and the chest to find out about the mass along its course. Laryngitis of any nature can cause the same problems, which an ENT examination can rule out. Get all such tests done including the one for Kidney functions as uremia is another common reason. I hope this answer helps you and your Internist to get the diagnosis and give you the proper treatment.