Do You Snore? - Treatments for Snoring Problems

During my night shifts in the hospital, there are always sounds of snoring from the wards and rooms. Sometimes, there are mini ‘orchestra concerts’ made by the mixture of several snores deep into the night. 

Recently, I have experienced the true feelings of sleeping with a snoring partner. Shalini, Dollah, Romeo, and I went for a short trip and spent the night in a dormitory room. To our surprise, Dollah snored his way into the night! I don’t usually sleep that deeply, so the sounds of snoring can be difficult for me to have a good night’s sleep.

Today, I had the chance to ask Dato’ Dr. Ko about this issue while I was attending a conference on new technologies in laser treatments. To be honest, I actually felt anxious meeting him for the first time! However, Dr. Ko was ever so friendly, “snoring is a common problem for Malaysians. Generally, 60% of snorers are men, with 40% of women. Obesity, smoking, alcoholism, and fatigue can also lead to snoring.”

Occasional snoring does not have huge effects on health. However, frequent snoring or obstructive sleep apnoea can cause a lack of oxygen in the brain and blood, which may lead to bad tempers or inability to focus upon awakening. Long-term lack of oxygen in the brain and blood can potentially lead to high blood pressure, increased cardiac burden, stroke, heart attack, chest pain, or sexual dysfunction, among other deadly diseases.

The reasons behind snoring

The biggest problem of snoring is, the person who snores is usually not aware of it – it takes his or her partner to suffer through the night!

“Have you heard of the Snorelab mobile app? This app can record and analyse your snoring volume, duration and sleep quality throughout the night. This app is user-friendly and gives accurate information, so you would know of your snoring problems the next day itself,” said Dr Ko.

We’ve seen several anti-snoring devices on sale in the markets like mouthpieces, mouth guards, chin straps, and nose taps. However, Dr Ko wasn’t keen on the practicality of these devices. “To be honest, to use these devices would make me feel very uncomfortable and I might find myself having difficulty sleeping. Besides, these devices are not of much help, as only a handful of snoring cases are caused by breathing problems in the nose.”

Only then did I realised how we have all misunderstood the nose for the main cause of snoring. As a matter of fact, it is the throat that actually causes snoring. When the soft palate and uvula of the oral cavity relax, the obstruction of breathing causes the vibration of the soft palate and uvula. The more the obstruction, the stronger the vibration, producing a louder snoring sound.

This is also why some people experience less snoring while sleeping on the side. When you sleep on your back, gravity pulls down the soft organs in your oral cavity (the tongue, soft palate, and uvula), obstructing your breathing, so sleeping on your side can sometimes reduce the occurrence of snoring. However, this is just a temporary solution, as not many people can maintain a certain sleeping position until the next morning.

Treating snoring problems

Is there scientific solution to this problem, then? Dr Ko introduced to me the Fotona’s NightLase® oral cavity laser. This treatment uses laser heat to reach the mucosal tissues in the oral cavity and tighten the related tissues. Once the breathing tract is unobstructed, snoring naturally decreases and sleep quality improves.

Unlike traditional surgical procedures, Fotona’s NightLase® oral cavity laser treatment doesn’t involve surgery, anaesthesia, wounds, or recovery periods. The treatment also takes a measly 30 minutes. Due to the safe and painless procedure of this treatment, there are no limitations to age for patients. After this conversation, Dr Ko even whispered to me on how his snoring problems has also improved after undergoing the treatment himself.

I couldn’t help but wonder if there were any potential side effects of this treatment.

“After the treatment, patients may experience a dry or sore throat and mouth ulcers. Drink more water to improve your conditions after the treatment.” This laser treatment has a standardised procedure of 3 appointed treatments which can be completed within 8 weeks. According to the treatment data so far, the effect of the laser treatment can last for about a year. Repeated treatments can be conducted in the future if snoring occurs again. 

Besides the laser treatment, here are two tips from Juliet for my friends with snoring problems:

1. Try to avoid sleeping pills, tranquilisers, muscle relaxants, and alcohol, as these can cause relaxation of muscles and worsen snoring problems.

2. Obesity or overweight symptoms can cause fat accumulation at the neck, causing obstruction to breathing which leads to snoring.

Sleep takes up one third of the time in our lives, so sleep quality is very important for health. Whether it is for our own health or for the sake of others’ sleep, we should not ignore the problem of snoring. I should also ask Dollah to enquire about this treatment!

Juliet Note:If you or your partner have sleeping problems, or if you have had experiences of being disturbed by snores while asleep, share your stories with me at [email protected]!