By Michael Russell
It has been a long and busy day at the office. You come home to get some peace and quiet and to rest your tired body and weary soul. But just when you are about to fall asleep, your partner starts to snore! It was nothing but a soft snoozing sound at first but the snoring gradually becomes louder and louder until you can't fall asleep anymore!
Complications - Snoring can have its own share of emotional repercussions. You can get ridiculed for being a loud snorer. Your friends may start canceling scheduled visits and sleepovers. And what’s more, snoring can even lead to serious relationship discord! In a study based on 4,900 snoring couples, it was reported that no less than 80% of all the subjects ended up sleeping in separate bedrooms - and some even ended up signing their divorce papers! And yes, it all started with the snoring issue.
Snoring isn’t just a nocturnal nuisance – it can be a sign of a more serious medical problem that needs immediate medical attention. Since the snorer is deprived of his or her much needed rest during the night, habitual snoring may lead to daytime sleepiness. It can even lead to the development of sleep apnea – a condition characterized by loud snoring that is interrupted by frequent episodes of obstructed breathing.
Sleep apnea can be fatal. It causes the body’s oxygen level to fall and prompts the heart to pump even harder just to meet the body’s optimal oxygen requirement. Sleep apnea may even lead to some very serious medical complications - including diabetes and various heart diseases such as high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. Even death is never a far possibility when one is afflicted with this sleeping problem.
Seeking Medical Advice - Snoring should never be treated lightly. Habitual snorers should seek proper medical attention to eliminate the possibility of sleep apnea or else, have it treated accordingly. Your family doctor may refer you to an ear, nose and throat doctor; or to a sleep specialist for a more thorough evaluation of your sleeping habits and snoring problem. Your partner may even be called in for an interview, in order to gauge the severity of your condition.
To solve the problem, your doctor may first urge you to make some lifestyle changes. He or she may advise you to lose some weight (if you are overweight), do some moderate exercises, avoid caffeine, quit smoking and avoid drinking alcohol so close to bedtime. Likewise, you may be advised to avoid taking tranquilizers, sleeping pills and antihistamines before you retire for the night. Your doctor may also recommend you to make some changes in your sleeping habits, such as sleeping on your side rather than lying flat on your back and elevating the head of your bed.
If these corrective measures do not work, your doctor may recommend one of the following techniques and treatments:
• Use oral appliances - These dental mouthpieces may help keep your air passages open as you sleep and keep your snoring problem in check. Just remember to visit your dentist once every month for the first six months and then at least once a year afterward to make sure that your mouthpiece fits you properly.
• Go under the knife - There are several surgical procedures that can correct your problem. You may be advised to undergo traditional surgery (ovulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP) to tighten your throat and palate tissues or go through a thermal ablation palatoplasty (TAP). TAP includes such procedures as bipolar cautery, lased treatment and radiofrequency ablation. Another surgical procedure used to treat sleep apnea is genioglossus and hyoid advancement. This procedure pulls the tongue muscles forward and prevents the lower throat from collapsing.
• Sleep with your mask on! In cases where surgery is too risky to undertake, you can choose to use CPAP every night as you sleep. CPAP or “continuous positive airway pressure” is a nasal mask that delivers air pressure to the throat to prevent any obstructions to your breathing and thus, prevent snoring.
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Snoring
