Treatment of Chronic Snoring

About the disease

Chronic snoring is a very common condition, which develops when the airflow through the mouth and nose becomes obstructed. As a result, a person produces sounds while sleeping, which can be a nuisance both for snorer and their partners. Chronic snoring usually develops in the middle age and it has the tendency to be more pronounced with age. It is also more common among men. Being overweight increases the risk of developing snoring in the longer term. Although it is universally believed that snoring is not dangerous, it still can disrupt the sleeping pattern of a person and impair the sleep quality. As a result, a person may still be tired after the sleep and feel fatigue.

There are many causes of why a person can develop snoring. The most common one is obstruction of the nasal airways. This obstruction can be caused by nasal polyps or deformities of the nose. Such deformities can be congenital or can be acquired because of the fight or an accident. Also, nasal airways can be obstructed in people who have sinus infection. Certain allergies can provoke obstruction of the nasal airways as well.

Muscles in the throat and tongue can become weak with age or due to long-term consumption of alcohol. Poor muscle tone in these areas can also cause chronic snoring. Children can also develop snoring if they have adenoids.

Overall, chronic snoring can result in interruptions of the breathing for 10 seconds or more. This can result in low levels of oxygen in the blood, which can lead to headaches and daytime sleepiness.  

Symptoms

• Usually chronic snoring is detected by a person who sleeps close to the snorer. A person can also notice that they wake up more frequently at night and that there is certain obstruction in the nasal airways, which becomes more prominent in the night time.

Diagnosis

• During a general examination, a doctor will examine the nasal airways to determine if there is any visible obstruction which could be causing snoring. Also, a doctor will examine the mouth and tongue to check the muscle tone and rule out the possibility of infection or cold which could be the cause of a short-term snoring.
• An X-ray of the nasal airways is used to examine it more closely and determine if there are any deformities which could have been causing the obstruction.

Treatment

• Septoplasty is a surgery used to correct the deviated nasal septum and, thus, resolve the issue of nasal airways obstruction. This procedure improves the airflow through the nose and resolve the snoring. If there are adenoids, they also need to be removed to improve the airflow.

Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Farrukh Ahmed