Understanding Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition that is known to briefly interrupt breathing during your sleep. The breathing gaps usually last between ten to twenty seconds and may occur several hundred times during the night. These pauses can affect the natural sleep rhythm of your body, meaning most of the time you spend sleeping isn’t relaxed or restorative.

Deep sleep is needed in order to feel mentally alert and energetic during your waking hours. Most people are unaware of the problem until a roommate or partner complains about the excessive snoring.

The snoring sound usually originates at the back of the mouth (uvula and soft palate). Snoring takes place when the uvula and soft palate impact each other, causing a vibration when you’re breathing. However, the efficient treatment of sleep apnea and snoring goes beyond focusing on that single area.

The causes of snoring and sleep apnea may vary from patient to patient. In order to understand your specific cause, you would need to consult a snoring and sleep apnea specialist to arrive at a personalized treatment plan that will help you find relief.

Diagnosis and Treatment

It is important that heavy snorers seek timely medical advice as this will help to ensure relief from sleep apnea. How do you define heavy snorers? These are people who tend to snore consistently in any sort of position. It may also disturb their roommate’s or partner’s sleep.

A detailed examination of the mouth, nose, palate, neck, and throat, as done by an otolaryngologist will help reveal whether the snoring is a result of an infection, nasal allergy, nasal obstruction, or simply an enlargement of adenoids and tonsils.

Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea varies depending on the cause and intensity. It is commonly treated with the help of a device that opens up the airway using a bit of positive pressure. A nasal mask is worn by the patient in order to receive this pressure. The treatment is called CPAP.

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) is a surgical treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and snoring. It is helpful in opening up the airway and it can remove tissue and/or remodel tissue in the throat. Thermal ablation techniques are helpful in reducing the bulk of tissue in the tongue base, nasal turbinates, and the soft palate and can treat both OSA and snoring.

Contact Our Office

If you have a problem with snoring and obtaining restful sleep, you may be experiencing early signs of something more serious. Contact the Snore Experts to learn more about your symptoms and the solutions available to you.