Why do we snore?

A snore is a vibration of the soft tissues of the pharynx. Nasal breathing, aggravated by lying down during sleep, often leads to breathing through the mouth, which is when snoring occurs. In addition to snoring, many patients have respiratory arrest or apneas. This occurs when the patient stops breathing and does not resume breathing until oxygen levels activate the brain and the patient wakes up, contracting the pharyngeal musculature to allow passage and resume ventilation. When this occurs, blood pressure and heart rate increase, tissues stop receiving oxygen and sleep is disturbed. As a consequence, the patient will notice that he/she does not get enough rest and will tend to fall asleep easily during the day. In the long run, problems of hypertension and cardiovascular pathology will appear.

Why does snoring occur?

Snoring is produced by various causes, the most common is a problem of overweight that is associated with a reduced nasal passage and an elevated lingual, tonsillar and soft palate volume. Having a retracted jaw may be another cause of snoring.

Nasal and pharyngo-laryngeal endoscopic examination allows detecting anatomical alterations that may cause obstruction; for example, nasal septum deviation or bulky tonsils and soft palate and uvula. Apnea is detected with a hospital overnight polysomnography, or a sleep test to detect and quantify the degree. The location of the area where the vibration that causes snoring occurs can be determined by scanning the patient in the operating room by induced sleep, in a test called somnoscopy.

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What is the treatment?

When the anatomical obstruction is evident and the point of maximum resistance can be determined, surgery can be performed to improve the problem. Weight control is necessary for this pathology. A mandibular advancement splint will achieve anterior displacement of the tongue when there is retroposition of the mandible. In cases where patients are not compatible with this treatment, they will have to use other types of continuous positive airway pressure systems that have an effect on snoring and sleep apnea.