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Snoring and obstructive sleep apnea
occurs in at least eight (8) different sites; your nose (deviated
septum, enlarged nasal turbinates), soft palate and uvula (in the
roof of your mouth), tonsils (on the back sides of your mouth), your
tongue (which is one of the most important contributing factor for
obstructive sleep apnea and will drop in the back of your throat
when sleeping and blocks the airway). This single factor is the main
reason that laser treatment alone will not correct sleep apnea).
Other factors are receded chin (chin surgery)and jaw (Jaw or
Orthognathic surgery). You may also have a very narrow airway; the
walls of your throat could be too thick, blocking the airway
(pharyngeal muscle hypertrophy). This condition causes people to
make a snoring sound deep from their throat. Obviously, laser
surgery in the roof of your mouth will not address any of these
structures. Position of your hyoid bone (Adams Apple) as well as
epiglottis (tissues around your voice box) will contribute to some
degree to snoring and sleep apnea).
So as the air flows through your
nose, mouth and throat, obstruction in any of these areas could
cause snoring and sleep apnea. If the throat structures such as the
uvula, tonsils and even the tongue are too large or the muscles
relax too much during sleep, the vibration of these structures as
the air passes through will cause the snoring sound. The air passage
may also be too narrow and partially or even totally blocked. This
could lead to stoppage of the airflow and sleep apnea.
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The sound from this
vibration is further magnified if:
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The tissues are
excessively long or floppy -
You sleep on your
back causing the tongue and soft palate to further obstruct the
airway -
You have a receded
chin or jaw -
If you smoke -
If you have a
drink with your dinner or there after
At times, this sound can be
so loud that snorer wakes up others, or even themselves, during
the night. Snoring gets worse as more and more of the air passage
is blocked.
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separate-bedroom marriage!" |