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Sleep Apnoea & Snoring

Whilst some people rarely snore and others snore quietly, there are many people who snore every night, and sometimes as loudly as a pneumatic road drill.

The snorting and rattling noises come from vibration of the soft palate and tissue in the mouth, nose or throat.

Loud and repeated snoring is more than a joke, especially when it damages relationships and causes excessive sleepiness and poor concentration during the day.

Snoring solutions range from lifestlye measures, exercise, nasal sprays and devices, wearing a jaw repositioning device to surgery. Treatment can improve snoring in a number of cases, but a complete cure is not always possible. 

CPAP treatment will stop snoring if it is a major nuisance.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea happens in some people who snore, obstruction of the throat can progress so that the airway closes off as you breathe in.  This is similar to sucking on a straw with a thick milkshake where the straw will close off as you suck on it. This can happen in the throat and in time your blood oxygen level falls. The brain is alerted, waking you up from deep, refreshing sleep into shallow sleep that is not refreshing.

Once awoken the airway muscles open and breathing restarts so the brain is allowed to return to sleep. This can happen hundreds of times a night and leads to poor sleep and daytime tiredness or sleepiness.

Usually, sleep apnoea that is causing daytime sleepiness is treated with continuous positive airway pressure treatment. This works like a reverse hoover attached to a mask. It delivers a slight pressure to keep the airway open and, as a useful side benefit, it stops snoring.

Dr Pepperell has seen thousands of patients with snoring and sleep apnoea. He runs the sleep laboratory at Musgrove and oversees the treatment of over 4000 patients on CPAP and other (NIV) breathing machines.

Working with ENT colleagues Dr Pepperell  is an expert in the assessment of snoring and which treatments can help.

Below is an american video that is narrated to explain how sleep apnoea and snoring are linked.

If you have encountered any issues with snoring and want to try and get them sorted, get in touch now via email or telephone.

Alternatively, ask your GP to refer you to us.