Do you snore? Don’t ignore. Here are 6 snoring treatment options

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Snoring is a serious health issue because it causes poor quality of sleep and tiredness. It can also cause sleep apnea due to frequently interrupted breathing during sleep. Chronic sleep apnea itself can be factor in strokes, heart failure and high blood pressure.

The good news is, you don’t have to live with snoring.

Here are 6 snoring treatment options

Snoring treatment option 1: Palatal implants

In palatal implant therapy, three polyester implants are placed into the soft palate tissue (the tissue making up the rear side of the roof of the mouth). The presence of the polyester implants results in the palate becoming stiffer which reduces the intensity of vibrations that cause snoring. This treatment has several advantages including minimal discomfort, fast recovery and ease of procedure. The only drawback of this treatment is that the implants are expensive.

Snoring treatment option 2: Radiofrequency stiffening

Radiofrequency treatment is an office-based procedure which is performed under anaesthesia. This procedure utilizes the heat generated by radio waves in order to stiffen parts of the soft palate tissue. There may be multiple sessions required to complete the treatment. The levels of discomfort caused by this procedure can be more than that in the case of palatal implants and the recovery time is also more.

Snoring treatment option 3: Tonsillectomy

While enlarged tonsils (two small masses of tissue at the base of the tongue) and adenoids (a mass of tissue between the throat and the back of the nose) are nowhere as common a cause of snoring in adults as they are in children, many adults can have their snoring problems resolved by the removal of enlarged tonsils or adenoids.  This is an outpatient procedure performed under general anaesthesia and most patients need a recovery time of about 1-2 weeks. There is some risk of mild bleeding during the first week after surgery but cases of serious bleeding are rare.

Snoring treatment option 4: Nasal surgery

Nasal obstructions are a prominent cause of snoring in both adults and children.  Nasal obstructions can be due to allergies or deviations in the septum (The nasal septum is the tissue that divides the left and right nostrils), among other causes. Apart from addressing the root cause of an allergy, some medications can also help manage the allergy and reduce the intensity of its triggering. People with deviations in the septum are typically diagnosed using X-rays. Surgery is an effective option to fix the deviated septum and provide a permanent solution to the problem.

Snoring treatment option 5: Turbinate reduction

Turbinates are tissues present on the inside side wall of the nose. Swollen turbinate tissues can cause congestion in the nose which can in turn create nasal obstructions, causing snoring. Turbinate reduction procedures shrink swollen turbinate tissues, providing significant relief from snoring due to nasal allergies. In this procedure, a wand is inserted into the turbinate tissue after making the nose numb. The wand sends out radio-frequency waves which shrink the turbinate tissue. The procedure is an in office one and takes less than 20 minutes once the treatment option has been firmed up.

Snoring treatment option 6: CPAP

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure treatment is very effectively used to treat cases of obstructive sleep apnea. The person is asked to wear a mask which is connected to a machine that pumps constant flow of air into the nose, mouth and airways and helps you sleep better. This is very similar to the machine used to pump air for those suffering a bout of extreme wheezing or asthma with very low levels of oxygen in the blood. The primary concern that patients have is the sense of discomfort and dry mouth associated with wearing the mask during sleep.

If you snore, don’t ignore! Seek one of these snoring treatment options as quickly as you can!

Stay healthy!

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