Ensure a good night’s rest for yourself and others.
Snoring is an unpleasant sound that typically emanates from vibration of the palate and uvula in the back of the throat, which can sometimes be loud enough to wake up others, even in an adjacent room! Patients who suffer from chronic snoring may have sleep or respiratory problems that prevent them from getting a full night’s rest.
There are many considerations when evaluating a patient for snoring. Are they sleeping well themselves? Do they stop breathing during the night? Do they snore every night or just occasionally? Our double-board-certified surgeons have expertise in throat surgery. After a full evaluation, our surgeons can typically identify the cause of a patient’s snoring or other sleep disturbance.
Snoring often results from vibration of soft tissue in the throat, including the soft palate, uvula, and tongue base. It can be worsened by nasal obstruction, excess throat tissue, or the jaw's position during sleep.
This treatment involves placing small implants into the soft palate to stiffen the tissue and reduce the vibration that causes snoring, offering an option for patients whose snoring originates primarily from palate movement.
Not necessarily. Snoring surgery targets the tissue vibration that causes the noise. At the same time, sleep apnea involves actual pauses in breathing and may require a broader evaluation and a different treatment approach, sometimes including a sleep study.
A sleep study may be recommended to determine whether snoring is an isolated issue or associated with sleep apnea, since this distinction affects which treatment approach is most appropriate.
Yes. Reduced airflow from a deviated septum can worsen snoring, which is why nasal breathing is often evaluated alongside throat-based causes during a snoring consultation.
Coverage often depends on whether snoring is linked to a diagnosed medical condition, such as sleep apnea, so it's worth confirming with your insurance provider based on your specific evaluation and diagnosis.
This is generally an in-office procedure with a short recovery, and most patients experience only mild throat discomfort for a few days afterward.
Yes, for some patients, weight loss, sleeping on one's side, and reducing alcohol before bed can lessen snoring. However, structural causes like excess palate tissue or nasal obstruction typically require a procedural solution.
Results vary depending on the underlying cause and treatment used, and some patients may need a touch-up or a different approach if snoring returns gradually, particularly if it stems from more than one contributing factor.
Some snoring treatments, like palatal implants, can be performed with local anesthesia in-office, while other procedures addressing more extensive throat tissue may require sedation or general anesthesia, depending on complexity.
Risks vary by treatment type but generally include infection, bleeding, and temporary throat or palate discomfort. Depending on the specific procedure, there is also a small risk of temporary changes in voice or swallowing, or of snoring that only partially improves and requires additional treatment.
As many as 90 million adults around the country suffer from varying degrees of snoring and sleep apnea. This not only af...
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