Snoring and sleep-apnea syndrome is a serious health problem that is frequently encountered. Snoring indicates that the air passage area in the airways is not clear enough. The back of the tongue, the area where the soft palate and the uvula join with the nasal passage, is a self-narrowing region. When these parts overlap each other, they vibrate with respiration and snoring occurs.

Snoring occurs in 10% to 30% of adults. For most of these people, snoring is simply snoring that does not cause serious health problems. However, it is seen that about 5 out of 100 people have severe snoring and a sleep apnea syndrome for more than 10 seconds, hence the disease called sleep-apnea syndrome.

Factors Causing Snoring

Mouth Structure: Low palate, thickened soft palate, large tonsils, adenoids, enlarged uvula, overweight.

Alcohol Consumption: Alcohol taken before going to bed increases snoring during sleep. Alcohol causes the muscles of the pharynx to relax and the resistance of the muscles to the passing air decreases.

Nasal Problems: Problems such as the causes of constant nasal congestion (allergy, enlargement of nasal structures), bone curvature of the nasal middle part, and disorders of the outer roof of the nose are effective in snoring.

Sleep Apnea (Sleep Breathlessness): Snoring can be seen with obstructive breathing pauses during sleep. In this very serious condition, the structures in the throat block your airway and prevent you from breathing. Sleep apnea is similar to loud snoring followed by periods of at least 10 seconds of quiet (when breathing is stopped). Sometimes breathing stops completely. The decrease in oxygen in the blood and the increase in carbon dioxide cause you to wake up by stimulating your brain. In this way, you control your muscles and open the airway. This can happen repeatedly throughout the night.

The most serious harm of sleep-apnea syndrome is the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood and the decrease in the amount of oxygen during apnea. As the apnea gets longer, this drop rate can become severe. The number of beats per minute of the heart drops and the rhythm may be disturbed. In this case, sudden death in sleep due to heart attack and cardiac arrest can be seen. For all these reasons, sleep-apnea syndrome should not be neglected. For a better quality and healthy life, an ENT doctor should be examined immediately when the problem starts.

What Problems Cause Snoring and Sleep Apnea?

Simple snoring can only bother people around you. However, if you have continuous snoring and sleep apnea, you may encounter serious life-threatening problems.

Hypertension
heart rhythm disorders
Heart failure
Paralysis
Reflux
Mental problems (depression)
Lack of attention and decrease in reflexes are especially important in traffic accidents.
Low achievement in business and learning life
Attention deficit and learning difficulties

Snoring Treatment

An ENT doctor or a physician who deals with sleep disorders should be consulted as soon as possible and a sleep laboratory test (polysomonography) should be performed to understand the problems experienced in sleep. According to the results of this test, medical and or surgical treatments can be planned.