Did you know, that

• Snoring is no longer considered a laughing matter
• Snoring can be the cause of various health problems including high blood pressure, heart failure and even death.
• Treatment of snoring is now very easy and with the help of the Carbon Dioxide Laser, it is an outpatient procedure.
• In this article, Prof. K.K. Ramalingam & Dr. Ravi Ramalingam from the KKR ENT Hospital & Research Institute, Chennai, the premier ENT institution in South India, explain the causes, health problems associated with heavy snoring and its latest and simplest method of treatment.

What causes Snoring ?
The noisy sounds of snoring occur when there is an obstruction to the free flow of air through the passages at the back of the mouth and nose. This is the collapsible part of the airway where the tongue and upper throat meet the soft palate and uvula (the fleshy structure that dangles from the roof of the mouth back into the throat). When these structures strike against each other and vibrate during breathing, that is snoring. Persons who snore have at least one of the following problems :

1) Poor muscle tone (lack of tightness) in the muscles of the tongue and throat.
2) Excessive bulkiness of tissues of the throat.
3) Excessive length of the soft palate and uvula.
4) Obstructed nasal airways.

Is Snoring serious ?
Socially – Yes. It is disruptive to family life. It makes the snorer an object of ridicule and causes other household members sleepless nights and resentfulness. Snorers become unwelcome roommates on vacations or business trips.

And medically – Yes. It disturbs the sleeping patterns of the snorer himself, so that he may not sleep restfully. Furthermore, heavy snorers tend to develop high blood pressure at a younger age than non – snorers.

The most exaggerated form of snoring is known as obstructive sleep apnoea, when loud snoring is interrupted by frequent episodes of totally obstructed breathing. This is serious if the episodes last over 10 seconds each and occur more than 7 times per hour. Your physician may recommend a laboratory sleep study as a way of evaluating your symptoms. Apnea patients may experience 30 to 300 obstructed events per night. And many spend as much as half their sleep time with blood oxygen levels below normal. During their obstructive episodes, the heart must pump harder to circulate the blood faster. This can cause irregular heartbeats, and after many years it leads to elevated blood pressure and heart enlargement. The immediate effect of this oxygen starvation is that the person must sleep in a lighter stage and tense his muscles enough to open his airway to get air into his lungs. Since snorers with severe sleep study may be the only way to discover it.
Persons with obstructive sleep apnea may spend little of their nighttime hours in the deep sleep stages that are essential for a good rest. Therefore, they awaken unrefreshed and are sleepy much of the day. They may fall asleep while driving to work or while on the job.

Can Snoring be cured ?
This is the question, which is foremost in the mind of the patient. Over the years numerous treatment methods have been tried with varying results. Various mechanical devices have been patented and in fact more than 300 such devices exist. The efficacy of this kind of treatment is always in doubt.

Whatever the cause of the snoring, the first line of treatment is always to improve general health. Regular exercises, good sleeping habits combined with avoidance of alcohol and sleeping pills and loss of weight will help a majority of mild and occasional snorers. Heavy snorers, those who snore in any position they sleep in, and the so-called “obnoxious snorers” need more help that the suggestions above.

The heavy snorer requires a thorough examination of the nose, mouth, palate and neck. Treatment will of course depend on the diagnosis. However a majority of patient swill benefit significantly from an operated called “Laser Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty”. In this operation the excess of tissue in the air passage which is causing the obstruction is excised with the help of Carbon Dioxide Laser. The KKR ENT Hospital & Research Institute, Chennai with its eminent ENT surgeons Prof. K.K. Ramalingam and Dr. Ravi Ramalingam is the first private ENT Hospital in South India to procure this laser. This operation replaces other older and more extensive operations done previously. This operation is simple, safe and effective and is an outpatient procedure. The patient after having the operation can be discharged the same day and will have substantial relief from this serious problem.