Learn How To Stop Snoring Without Surgery Blog

Snoring should be considered a medical symptom that affects more than a third of the U.S. population (44 percent of men and 28 percent of women). It may be the result of underlying, treatable conditions, or may herald a more serious risk to health.

Snoring that interrupts sleep — either the patient’s or the bed partner’s — should be brought to the attention of the snorer’s primary-care physician. Getting input from the snorer’s bed partner is also valuable in assessing the significance of the snoring. In some instances, referral to a specialist or to a sleep disorders center for testing will be appropriate.

Snoring occurs when tissues in the throat relax and narrow the air passageway. The tissues vibrate when air flows past. The sound of these vibrations can range from mild to severe. The average, 60-decibel noise level produced by a typical snorer is approximately equivalent to normal conversational noise levels. Snoring in the high noise-level range — 80 to 90 decibels — can match the levels of a vacuum cleaner or passing freight train.

The causes of snoring and exacerbation of snoring noise levels can be both physical and behavioral. Determining the cause of snoring and implementing strategies to address the underlying condition can be beneficial in reducing noise levels. For example, being overweight contributes to collapsing the air passageway during sleep, so weight loss and/or shifting sleeping position to your side can alleviate snoring in some cases. Snoring also can be brought on by chronic nasal congestion, a crooked partition between your nostrils (deviated nasal septum) or consuming too much alcohol before bedtime. In these cases, a nasal decongestant, surgery and less alcohol, respectively, should improve the condition.

In the past, most doctors agreed that snoring alone was not a serious medical condition unless it actually developed into a complete blockage or collapse of the air passageway and a cessation of breathing, a condition known as sleep apnea. Today, there is significant clinical evidence that snoring can be an indication of other serious medical conditions, including high blood pressure, especially in young adults. The most notorious medical condition closely associated with snoring is still obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, which requires the sleeper to awaken to begin breathing again.

Sleep apnea results when the sleeper’s airway is completely blocked, so that no air is supplied to the lungs for at least 10 seconds or more at a frequency of at least five times an hour. Excessive daytime sleepiness is a frequent complaint of individuals with this condition. During this process, the sleeper will have a simultaneous drop in blood oxygen levels and an increase in blood pressure, which can become potentially dangerous and requires medical treatment with a continuous positive airway pressure device, or CPAP. This simple device blows air into the mouth or nose with enough pressure to keep the airway open.

Other treatments for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome include mandibular advancement devices, which make the lower jaw and the base of the tongue jut forward, and a variety of new surgical procedures, which, because they are invasive, are always the last resort. The choice of treatment for this particular condition is best determined by a sleep study at an accredited sleep facility.

(info By DR. JANICE E. NEVIN from http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051011/HEALTH/510110303/-1/NEWS01)