Snore

Snore

What is Snoring?

Snore; It is breathing by making loud sounds during sleep as a result of blockage in the air flow in the passages behind the mouth and nose.

Congestion in the passages behind the mouth and nose; soft tissues in the tongue, uvula, palate, and throat. When these tissues vibrate and collide with each other during respiration, it causes snoring.

At least 45% of adults snore from time to time, while 25% snore constantly. Snoring can cause chronic fatigue, deterioration of quality of life, distraction, headache, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension and heart enlargement in the long term. It also causes problems in many aspects from family to social life.

Causes of Snoring

There are many reasons for snoring:

Weak Muscles in the Tongue and Throat

When the muscles are too loose, the tongue may fall backwards and block the airway, or the throat muscles may be pulled from the sides towards the airway. It is normal for the muscles to relax a little during sleep. However, the use of alcohol or sleeping pills can exacerbate this condition and make it a problem.

Extremely Large Throat Tissue

Snoring is common in children with large tonsils and adenoids. Overweight people may have too loose neck areas, which can lead to narrowing of the airway. Apart from this, a cyst or tumor may also play a role in the narrowing of the airways.

Long Soft Palate and/or Minor Tongue

The long palate may narrow the opening from the nose to the throat. During deep sleep, the long soft palate or uvula acts like a vocal flap.

Stuffy nose

If your nose is stuffy, you make extra effort to breathe. This powerful breath creates an exaggerated vacuum that pulls the soft tissues in the throat into the airway. Thus, the problem of snoring arises. Since the common cold or sinus infections also cause nasal congestion, snoring may be observed during these periods. In other words, snoring can also be periodic. In addition, deformations in the nose and nasal septum such as deviation can also cause snoring.

snoring in children; It can be a sign of tonsil and adenoid problems. Children with chronic snoring complaints should be examined by an ENT specialist.

Complete recovery is achieved by tonsilectomy (removal of the tonsils by surgical intervention) or adenoidectomy (removal of the adenoid by surgical intervention).

Snoring Treatment

If snoring is not accompanied by respiratory tract problems, people can make changes in their lifestyles to eliminate the snoring problem. For this;

Sports life should be started,
Excessive fatigue should be avoided,
Alcohol use should be stopped, if it is to be used, it should be stopped four hours before going to bed,
The head of the bed should be adjusted to be higher,
It is preferable to sleep on your side rather than on your back.
If there is snoring and shortness of breath during sleep, first of all, a sleep test is performed in the sleep laboratory, and then the treatment method is determined. Surgery may be required to enlarge the air passage area or to reduce the narrowing elements.

The most frequently applied surgical method is UPPP surgery (Uvulo-Palato-Pharengo-Plasti). This operation is performed to reduce the excess of soft tissues in the upper respiratory tract, especially the uvula and soft palate, and to tighten the tissues.

Different methods such as tongue suspension, radiofrequency techniques to the tongue root, jaw surgeries are also becoming more common. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device may be preferred for obstructions in patients with severe apnea but who cannot undergo surgery. The CPAP device is one of the best solutions in elderly patients or people with an apnea-hypopnea index over 30, regardless of age, and in patients with excessive daytime sleepiness even if the index is low.