Sleep Disorders Health Center
Understanding Snoring -- Diagnosis and Treatment
How Do I Know If I Snore?
First, your doctor will ask about any allergies you may have, as well as about your eating patterns, what medicines you take, and whether you drink alcohol or smoke. If these are not the culprits, your doctor may examine your throat and nasal passages for any signs of nasal, mouth, dental, jaw, or throat deformities that may contribute to snoring.
If your doctor suspects that you have obstructive sleep apnea, your partner may be asked to keep a diary noting your sleeping and snoring patterns. You can also take a sleep-monitoring study, which will analyze when and how often you stop breathing during sleep.
By Ellie McGrath Love can be blind and, for a while, even deaf. I was somewhat aware that my husband-to-be had a snoring problem, but I didn't realize the extent until a friend he had traveled with presented us with an unusual wedding present: a black collar studded with little electrodes. Whenever my husband snored, he'd get a harmless electric shock that would wake him him up — with the goal of conditioning him to stop snoring altogether. After a few nights, though, my husband called for...
Read the How to Sleep With a Snorer article > >
What Are the Treatments for Snoring?
There are hundreds of products, exercises, medical devices, drugs, and surgeries that claim to treat snoring. However, in most cases, simple lifestyle changes can stop snoring. They include:
- Don't drink alcohol within three hours of bedtime.
- Avoid sedatives and antihistamines, especially at bedtime.
- If you're overweight, get regular exercise to lose some weight.
- If you suffer from allergies, try to eliminate allergens in the bedroom -- such as removing pets, regularly washing your sheets in hot water to remove dust mites, and removing any mold.
- Sleep on your side.
- Use a humidifier if the air in your home is too dry.
A variety of products designed to help you sleep on your side -- a position that can decrease snoring -- may help some people.
A variety of products designed to dilate the nasal passages, such as nasal strips or nasal support devices, may work in some people with congestion or nasal abnormalities.
Other products include pills, sprays, and herbal products that claim to decrease nasal congestion and devices to correct mouth breathing. These haven't been aggressively studied, so caution is advised.
Sometimes over-the-counter products work by keeping you in a more wakeful sleep, which does not allow you to obtain a restful, deep sleep. This can contribute to dangerous and excessive sleepiness.
If you have a jaw or mouth abnormality that is causing nasal obstruction, your dentist may be able to fit you with a dental appliance to correct the problem and lessen snoring.
If your doctor suspects that you have sleep apnea, treatment may include:
- Weight loss, if you are overweight.
- A CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) device. This is a mask-like device that you wear at night to maintain air pressure in your nose and keep airways open.
- Surgery. There are a variety of very successful surgeries now available to treat snoring, including somnoplasty, which uses radiofrequency ablation to shrink the tissues of the soft palate. These types of surgeries may be performed in the office and others in a surgical setting. Your doctor can make a recommendation whether or not surgery would be helpful for you.
WebMD Medical Reference
