It is possible that your own snoring is waking you at night, or maybe your snoring is keeping your partner awake. Either way, your life is being adversely impacted by your snoring…from causing a lack of restful sleep at night, to lowering your daytime productivity.
If you suffer from snoring on regular basis, it is important that you seek medical advice, because it can be caused by many factors. The good news is that you can experience a night of restful sleep once again, after identifying the problem and beginning treatment.
Snoring — what is it, and what causes it?
Snoring is the sound of throat tissues being vibrated by air as it is forced through an obstructed air passage, to put it simply. The more narrow the passage, the more persistent the snoring caused by the vibrations.
A variety of factors, some more serious than others, can cause snoring, and aging throat muscles is a major reason. As they age, the muscles lose their strength, causing them to become taut, then the tissues relax, causing the snoring.
Snoring can also be cased by a variety of facial anatomy abnormalities, such as enlarged adenoids or tonsils, deviated septum’s, excessive nasal and throat tissue, and obstructions in the nasal passage. Obesity and smoking, using alcoholic beverages, and certain medicines can also play a part.
Snoring Symptoms
You should always seek the guidance of a competent medical professional in order to determine the appropriate treatment options, and the severity of any snoring that is persistent. Below are several symptoms that could indicate that need:
- Concentration difficulty
- Night time chest pain
- Night time chocking and gasping
- Pauses in breathing during sleep
- Waking up with a sore throat
- Restless sleep
- Morning headaches
Conditions such as (OSA) obstructive sleep apnea, or (UARS) upper airway resistance syndrome, that are characterized by episodes of night time breathing cessation, are caused by partially or fully blocked air passages. Both of these are serious conditions that your snoring can progress to, if left untreated!
UARS Symptoms
UARS is the midpoint on a spectrum between benign snoring, and OSA, and it is frequently a precursor for the more serious obstructive sleep apnea. UARS sufferers experience breathing difficulties (a decrease in the flow of oxygen) to such an extent that sleep is often interrupted, because of air passages that are obstructed. Symptoms common to sleep apnea and snoring often overlap with these listed below, which are also common to UARS:
- Chronic insomnia
- Falling and staying sleep difficulties
- Daytime sleepiness
- Waking in the night frequently
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Symptoms
Much like UARS, OSA or obstructive sleep apnea shares many of the indicators common to snoring, and is on the severe end of the snoring spectrum. It is characterized by complete breathing cessation, caused by a severe blockage of the throat, and it happens several times nightly.
Severe health problems, such as strokes, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, just to name a few, become the increased risk of those individuals with OSA.
Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders/Treatments
Once a sleep/breathing disorder has been diagnosed by a certified sleep physician, you can then take the next step in getting the snoring related, sleep apnea treated.
The treatment of sleep apnea will depend on how severe your case is, among other factors. In our office we treat mild to medium sleep apnea with oral appliance therapy.
If you suspect you may have sleep apnea, your first step is to get a sleep study. Call our office today and let us help get you started back toward a good nights’ rest.