A Look at SNORING Treatments

Photo  by hellostanley 

If your own efforts to stop snoring do not help, consult your physician or an otolaryngologist -- or a doctor for the ear, nose, and throat. If you choose to try a dental appliance as a snoring treatment, you will need to see a dentist specializing in these devices. Some medical snoring treatments are continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), oral devices (including dental appliances and lower jaw positioners), and surgery.  

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure consists of sleeping with an air mask to maintain continuous air pressure in the throat. CPAP is a treatment for sleep apnea, as well as for snoring.

A wide range of dental appliances, oral devices, and lower jaw adjusters are available to alleviate snoring. Some people experience significant improvement with these oral appliances, which bring the lower jaw forward during sleep. Most of the products fit inside the mouth, but some products on the market are worn around the head and chin to adjust the position of the lower jaw. 

As far as surgery goes, Thermal Ablation Palatoplasty (TAP) treats snoring and various types of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The types of TAP include laser-assisted uvula palatoplasty (LAUP) and radiofrequency ablation (or “somnoplasty”).  Laser-assisted uvula palatoplasty (LAUP) vaporizes the uvula and a portion of the palate with a laser in the doctor's office under local anaesthesia. LAUP effectively removes obstructions to the airway, which may be causing snoring or sleep apnea.

Laser-Assisted Uvula Palatoplasty has a higher success rate than Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty for sleep apnea (UPPP), but it requires a surgeon with expertise in laser procedures. Radiofrequency ablation, or somnoplasty, shrink excess tissue in the upper airway with a needle electrode. For snoring, the soft palate and uvula are reduced. For Obstructive Sleep Apnea, the base of the tongue is reduced. For chronic nasal obstruction, nasal turbinates are reduced. Somnoplasty does not require general anaesthesia. 

According to many experts, while other snoring treatments may help in cases of milder snoring problems, for heavy snoring, surgically correcting obstructive conditions in the nose, pharynx, or uvula may be the only solution.

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Types of Surgeries as Treatments for SNORING

Snoring is known to be the end result of the vibration happening in the upper airway which includes parts such as the throat, mouth and the nose. Due to blockages, turbulence is caused during respiration. While we breathe virtually the whole day, we only snore at night because our muscle tone is very much reduced at sleeping which encourages the collapse of these tissues. Plus, the relaxed muscles are incapable of preventing themselves from a collision.

A picture of my bifid uvula. Also sometimes called split or cleft uvula. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Snoring can basically originate anywhere from the nose down to the vocal chords. Recently, researchers found out that the tongue plays certain roles in causing and aggravating one's scores.

Snoring is involuntary, so there's no use of trying to control it at will. It cants also be cured using simple measures. However, it can be controlled by means of various devices and techniques.

However, when snoring becomes too difficult for a commonly applied method to handle, it could be the right idea to check on surgical methods to deal with it. There are various surgical procedures to correct this sleeping problem. But not all may be used in all cases.

Sometimes, the thorough evaluation of the physical and physiological factors must be rendered before an otolaryngologist would come up with the most effective measures. Otolaryngologists are the specialists on problems directly related to the throat, mouth and the nose.

Another known treatment for snoring is the Tongue Suspension Procedure or Repose. This works by inserting a small screw under the tongue into the jaw. This way, the tongue will be prevented from falling back during sleep. While many reports of its effectivity in controlling the cause of snores, most physicians agree that this is an irreversible option so careful thinking is an evaluation.

For snorers whose main cause of snoring is the nose, nasal surgery is most likely to find the solution. While it is considered, in general, as a cosmetic type of surgery too few can deny that it actually works for problematic snoring.

This method is also used for patients who are suffering from deviated nasal septum. This doesn't only help the snorer during his sleep but can also add comfort in breathing during the day.

The LAUP or Laser-Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty is the advanced modification of the traditional treatment called Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP. This procedure works by cutting the uvula (which is the dangling part that most often than not causes the obstruction of the air passage) that is located at the rear part of the roof of the mouth. This procedure works best when the persistent problem lies on the uvula.

Radio Frequency Tissue Ablation, also known as Somnoplasty, is a relatively new technique approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This also basically removes parts of the uvula.

While there is not much data published in relation with Coblation-Channeling, we are for certain that this method employs the principle of removing any tissue that obstructs the air passage by means of radio frequency. On some cases, tissues are fully removed when the need arises.

Surgery as treatment for snoring must be taken as the last resort when everything else you've tried failed. Before diving into an option, be sure that you are completely evaluated of the actual causes of your condition. Ensure yourself also that you have the best doctor in your spectrum of choices.

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How HYPNOSIS Can Help Eliminate Snoring

Snoring can bring misery to snorers and their non snoring partners. In fact it is a factor frequently cited in divorce proceedings as the lack of sleep, particularly for the non snoring partner, can cause frustration and irritability, inevitably leading to arguments. However, there are solutions available, both for the snorer and the non snoring partner. 

Photo by haven't the slightest

Most solutions require some sort of physical intervention, chin straps or nasal dilators for example. These can be quite effective for many people, but they can also be very uncomfortable to wear and many people find it difficult to get to sleep wearing them. There is also medication you can take, but many of these are based on caffeine, which of course can interfere with your sleep pattern. An alternative and highly effective solution, which works not just for the snorer but for the non snoring partner, is hypnosis.

So, how can hypnosis help the snorer? Well, first of all let us think about how snoring is caused. During the day the muscles in our airways are taut keeping the airways open and ensuring that there are no obstructions. When we are asleep these muscles relax meaning that the airway becomes smaller. For some people the airways become sufficiently small so as to cause an obstruction. The result of this is that when the air hits the back of the throat the soft tissues vibrate causing the distinctive snoring sound.

What hypnosis can do is to re-train the snorer to tighten up these muscles while they are asleep and thereby increase the size of the airway. The net result of this increase in size of airway is that snoring is reduced or, as is often the case, completely eliminated. You should not expect instant results, however. It takes some time for the muscles to become re-trained in this way.

Hypnosis can also help the non snoring partner. The sound of snoring is particularly irritating because it is not constant, but more often intermittent. Therefore, often more disturbance is caused by the anticipation of the snore as much as the snoring itself. How hypnosis works for the non snorer is that it trains them to filter out the noise of the snoring. This does not mean that they stop hearing it, but more that it stops being something that they focus on when they are trying to sleep. It is not instant of course, but with time non snoring partners should be able to ignore the sound enough to get a good night's sleep.

Hypnosis can be administered by a trained hypnotherapist or self-administered. Alternatively, there are CDs and MP3 downloads available which can be just as effective.

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