What You Need to Know About Snoring

People who snore tend to be the topic of many jokes at family or social gatherings. However, as hilarious as it seems, snoring is no laughing matter. In fact, when it is loud and frequent, it could be a sign of something more sinister — a condition that should be diagnosed and treated promptly to prevent potentially life-threatening complications.

Here's what you need to know about snoring, particularly what it could signify and what you should do if someone has told you that you snore habitually.

Causes of Frequent or Loud Snoring

Snoring is essentially noisy breathing while you're asleep due to an obstruction in the flow of air through your mouth and nose. It is more common among men, but anyone, including children, can develop it. As you get older, your risk of snoring also increases.

Snoring has various potential causes, including the following:

• Nasal Congestion: Occurs when your nasal passages become swollen due to mucus buildup, such as when you have a cold, flu, or sinusitis
• Poor Muscle Tone: In the throat or tongue
• Alcohol Consumption: Alcohol has been shown to relax throat muscles.
• Deviated Septum: A condition in which the thin wall between your nasal passages is crooked or off-center
• Anatomical Blockages: Nasal polyps, which need surgical removal
• Obesity: Excessive neck fat compresses the upper airway and consequently causes snoring.

Disruptive and frequent snoring is also a hallmark of sleep apnea, a serious disorder characterized by breathing disturbances or shallow breaths during sleep. Several studies have established the link between sleep apnea and many serious or even potentially life-threatening conditions, such as diabetes, stroke, and heart attacks.

In people who have sleep apnea, habitual and loud snoring is often accompanied by most of the following symptoms:

• Chest pain and choking or gasping at night
• Daytime sluggishness or sleepiness
• Dry mouth and sore throat upon waking up
• Forgetfulness, trouble concentrating, irritability, and/or poor attention span
• Morning headaches
• Restless sleep

What to Do

If someone has told you that you snore frequently or if you are experiencing the symptoms of sleep apnea, do take it seriously — see an otolaryngologist (ENT doctor) for prompt diagnosis and intervention.

To determine the cause and severity of your snoring problem, your ENT doctor will carry out a comprehensive assessment. This likely includes a review of your medical history and symptoms; a physical examination of your neck, nose, and throat; medical imaging tests to check your airway structure for problems (e.g., deviated septum); and sleep study.

Based on the results of their evaluation, your ENT doctor will devise a suitable treatment plan, which will likely consist of any of the following approaches:

• Medications: Decongestants, nasal sprays, and nasal steroids to help reduce the swelling in your nasal passages as well as the sinus pressure and stuffiness.
• Use of Oral Appliances: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is recommended if you have sleep apnea, to keep your airway open and allow for easier breathing.
• Surgery: To address septal deviation, nasal polyps, etc.