Snoring
Don’t ignore your snore
Snoring is an alarm bell, signaling a potential obstruction in your airway. It's often dismissed as a nuisance, without realizing the struggle for oxygen behind it.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Occasional snoring is common and 50% of the population snores.
- Chronic snoring can indicate dangerous sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). 1 in 10 have sleep apnea and 80% go undiagnosed.
- A sleep study is recommended if OSA is suspected.
- Simple solutions exist to treat sleep disorders like OSA.
- ADVENT can help you fix your snoring.
Our three-step approach involves understanding your symptoms, evaluating your Breathing Triangle, and tailoring a care plan that may include Oral Appliance Therapy and other simple in-office treatments. Treatment varies based on your goals and the cause of your snoring.
What you need to know about snoring:
Snoring is a warning sign that something isn’t right in your Breathing Triangle, the two sides of your nose and throat. The loud rattling and sometimes horn-like sound happens when the throat relaxes and the tissue in the back of the throat vibrates.
You could also suffer from blocked nasal passageways, which can exacerbate your snoring. Additional factors that can increase its severity1:
- Nasal obstructions
- Tight throat
- Sinus issues
- Sleeping position (snoring is worse in back sleepers2)
- Allergies
- Deviated septum
- Alcohol
How do I know if I snore and what causes it?
If you live with other people, they’ll tell you. If you live and sleep alone and want to know, you can set up your phone to record you while you sleep. You might also snore if you wake up often during the night, you have daytime fatigue, or you wake up with a dry mouth.
Snoring isn't a stigma. Most of us snore occasionally, especially when we’re sick and congested. In fact in the U.S. alone, about 57% of men, 40% of women, and 27% of children snore3. Occasional snoring doesn't interrupt your sleep or alter normal oxygen levels. Yet, chronic snoring often indicates sleep-disordered breathing.
Those with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) stop breathing—sometimes up to 100 times per hour—which forces their bodies awake to resume breathing. Those suffering with OSA have a decrease in oxygen saturation while sleeping, which puts them at higher risk of: chronic disease, hormonal and erectile dysfunction, anxiety, excessive sleepiness and fatigue, diabetes, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular events4. These conditions differ mainly in how much of the airway is blocked, and where the obstruction occurs.
Risk factors for snoring include:
- Older age (50+)
- Airflow blockage by enlarged tonsils or tongue, deviated septum, polyps, large soft palate
- Small jaw or one that’s set farther back
- Nasal congestion at night5
- Alcohol or sedative use
- Obesity, especially extra fat around the neck and upper torso
- Menopause or pregnancy
Is snoring dangerous?
Snoring isn’t dangerous by itself, but the possible relationship between snoring and critical health outcomes could be life-threatening. While many find snoring simply annoying – or even funny – it could indicate a more serious condition. In fact, snoring is one of the most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
ADVENT has snoring solutions
There’s good news. ADVENT can help you stop snoring.
First, we need to ensure your Breathing Triangle works well. Your nostrils and throat make up an inverted triangle that allows you to breathe. When even one of your breathing passages gets blocked, serious issues like sleep apnea can develop.
3 simple steps to stop snoring:
1: Get Your Breathing Triangle Evaluation
First, we listen. At your new patient appointment, you’ll discuss your symptoms and goals with a Sleep & Sinus Specialist. You’ll also get a thorough Breathing Triangle Evaluation to help identify any underlying issues.
2: Uncover the Root Cause
Depending on your symptoms you may get an in-office CT scan or home sleep study to better understand the source of your snoring.
3: Treat Your Snoring with Simple Solutions
We offer several simple in-office options to ensure you have a healthy Breathing Triangle and to address your snoring. Depending on your diagnosis, you may be a candidate for: Balloon Sinuplasty, Turbinate Reduction, Nasal Cryotherapy, Snoreplasty, Uvulectomy or Oral Appliance Therapy.
Snoring FAQs
People snore because of a Breathing Triangle issue resulting in their airway to vibrate while they sleep.
For starters, snoring means that something is causing the tissue in your throat to vibrate and possibly your airway to collapse. You need to get that fixed so you can breathe and sleep well. Snoring is your body’s cry for help and a sign of something more serious, like obstructive sleep apnea. People with untreated sleep apnea are at higher risk for potentially life-threatening conditions like: heart attack, stroke, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Not necessarily, BUT…80% of people with obstructive sleep apnea are undiagnosed. The only way to know for sure if you have sleep apnea is to get an at-home sleep study and, preferably a comprehensive Breathing Triangle evaluation. If you’re concerned you might have sleep apnea, don’t wait to schedule a simple 30-minute initial evaluation at ADVENT.
Snoring is a sign of an unhealthy Breathing Triangle: the two sides of your nose and throat. Effective snoring treatments involve methods to open the upper airway and possibly stiffen the structures in the throat. If obstructive sleep apnea is suspected, you would undergo an at-home sleep study then receive treatment based on the study results. Any sleep apnea treatment works best once your Breathing Triangle is working as it should.
“There's simple, easy solutions as simple as sometimes just a retainer that you're going to wear when you're sleeping a night that holds your airway open on up the ladder to simple, in-office procedures to get somebody's nose working or stiffen the throat. There’s a multitude of options,” says Dr. Kandula.
ADVENT offers Oral Appliance Therapy, Snoreplasty, Septoplasty, Balloon Sinuplasty, Turbinate Reduction, Nasal Valve Repair, Polypectomy, and Uvulectomy to treat snoring.
At ADVENT, we don’t only treat your symptoms and give bandaid solutions. We treat the root cause of your snoring and identify underlying conditions related to snoring. This all begins with a comprehensive Breathing Triangle evaluation at your first visit.
Doubtful11, but you can try a new pillow or mattress if you want to spend extra cash. Prices for these types of pillows range from $85–$659 for a “smart” version. Same song, different verse for mattresses. “These try to propel people up. Pretty soon you're gonna be hanging from the ceiling sleeping, right? That is trying to put a band-aid on [for a problem] that obviously is a nose and throat issue,” says Dr. Ethan Handler, board-certified ENT and Sinus and Sleep Surgeon.
Why yes! Oral Appliance Therapy, a custom-made mouthpiece that keeps your airway open while you sleep, provides a simple, non-surgical solution to snoring. However, it is important to note that snoring treatments work best when your nasal breathing is optimized and working properly.
"ADVENT focuses on treating snoring by looking at The Breathing Triangle®. We look to be sure all 3 airways are open to allow for smooth airflow to the lungs. This prevents rattling of structures in the back of the throat. We also can use oral appliance to even expand the space in the back of the throat to allow for less movement of these structures."
"While other ENT clinics and doctors may simply tell you that you need a CPAP to treat your snoring or sleep apnea, ADVENT provides other options. A simple at-home sleep study is often performed to determine if there is the presence of sleep apnea in the setting of snoring. Oftentimes snoring stems from an obstructed nose, resulting in open-mouth breathing at night, which predisposes you to snoring."
Jacob Daniels, PA-C
"By restoring proper nasal airflow, we can often get people to breathe better and eliminate or reduce snoring. For those that continue to snore or have diagnosed sleep apnea, simple solutions such as an oral appliance or an in-office Snoreplasty may be recommended alternatives."
Jacob Daniels, PA-C
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References
- Franklin, K, Gislason, T, Omenaas, E, et al. The Influence of Active and Passive Smoking on Habitual Snoring. Am Journal of Resp and Crit Care. 170, 7, 2004 April 8. https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.200404-474OC
- Michalek-Zrabkowska M, Wieckiewicz M, Macek P, Gac P, Smardz J, Wojakowska A, Poreba R, Mazur G, Martynowicz H. The Relationship between Simple Snoring and Sleep Bruxism: A Polysomnographic Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(23):8960. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238960
- Suni, E. Snoring and Sleep. Sleep Foundation. Retrieved 2023 June 2. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/snoring
- Maggard MD, Sankari A, Cascella M. Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. [Updated 2022 Dec 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK564402/
- Young T, Finn L, Palta M. Chronic Nasal Congestion at Night Is a Risk Factor for Snoring in a Population-Based Cohort Study. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/648438
- Deeb, R., Smeds, M.R., Bath, J., Peterson, E., Roberts, M., Beckman, N., Lin, J.C. and Yaremchuk, K. (2019), Snoring and carotid artery disease: A new risk factor emerges. The Laryngoscope, 129: 265-268. https://doi.org/10.1002/lary.27314
- Ma Jinsha, Zhang Huifang, Wang Hui, Gao Qian, Sun Heli, He Simin, Meng Lingxian, Wang Tong Association Between Self-Reported Snoring and Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Neurology, 11 (2020). https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.517120
- Cho, S, Lee, H, Shim, J, Kim, H, Association of Snoring with Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Etiology Research Center Cohort. Diabetes Metab J, 44, 5, 2020 April 16. https://synapse.koreamed.org/articles/1145644
- Wiener, C, Shankar, A, Association between Serum Uric Acid Levels and Sleep Variables: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2005–2008, Int J Inflammation, (2012). https://www.hindawi.com/journals/iji/2012/363054/
- Gout. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 2023 June 3. https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/gout.html
- Michaelson PG, Mair EA. Popular Snore Aids: Do They Work? Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. 2004;130(6):649-658. 10.1016/j.otohns.2003.11.008
- Cazan, D., Mehrmann, U., Wenzel, A. et al. The effect on snoring of using a pillow to change the head position. Sleep Breath 21, 615–621 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-017-1461-1
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