At some point we have all experienced the rattling noise of snoring, whilst someone is asleep. Though it may not cause any obvious problems to the person who is snoring, it can very negatively affect those around them. It can interrupt their sleep, making them tired in the daytime, affecting their mood and overall quality of life.
What is snoring?
Snoring is the sound that is made when the tissues of the upper airway, vibrate when you are asleep. These vibrations can occur in any of the following places:
- The nose
- The soft palate (the back of the roof of the mouth)
- The back of your tongue
- The back of your throat, including your tonsils, or your uvula
It is a very common ailment, affecting as much as 4 in 10 people in the UK on a regular basis.
Some snoring habits can be affected by lifestyle choices, or other influences. For example, you may find that you snore more after drinking a lot of alcohol, or only snore if you have a cold.
What makes people likely to snore?
Unfortunately, there is no single one cause for the development of snoring. It is more likely that you snoring has been caused by an obstruction in either your nose, mouth or throat. Examples of this include:
- Large tonsils.
- Nasal polyps in the nose
- Injury to the nose, causing a deviated nasal septum.
- Hay Fever, a cold, or allergies causing a buildup of mucus or congestion
- An unusually shaped mouth, nose or jaw.
- An enlarged thyroid gland
There are also a number of health and lifestyle factors that have been known to affect snoring, including:
- Being overweight
- Smoking
- Heavy drinking
- Sleeping on your back
- Taking sedatives or other medications which make you drowsy or sleepy
What problems can be caused by snoring?
On the surface, often the person who is snoring goes unaffected by it, they continue to sleep as normal and may even be unaware that they snore.
Snoring is more likely to affect their partner, or even another person who is living in the same house if the snoring is very loud.
Snoring can have a significant impact on relationships, as the partner of the person snoring may insist on sleeping in another room so that they can have a full night’s sleep. This can cause a number of issues including distance and resentment of one another.
Snoring can also cause sleepiness during the day, which can lead to loss of concentration, change in mood and temperament and in some extreme cases can also lead to anxiety and depression.
What treatments can help me stop snoring?
At Skin Medical, we can offer a solution to those who are being affected by snoring. Our ENT consultant, uses a radiofrequency technique which can greatly assist in preventing snoring. It is much less invasive and traumatic than other types of surgeries and laser ablation, yet can achieve just as powerful results.
The benefits of stop snoring surgery include:
- Quick treatment times, patients can usually have the treatment and go back to their normal day within 3 hours.
- Affordable, especially when compared with other treatments
- Highly effective, tried and tested method
- It provides a real, long term solution, rather than a quick fix
- Much less painful than other surgeries and treatments.
- No need to remove the uvula.
If you would like to find out if you are an eligible candidate for stop snoring surgery, contact the Skin Medical team for more information.
