When Should You Worry About Snoring?

A bit of snoring at night isn’t necessarily an issue, but if you’re snoring a lot, it’s definitely something you should check out. It may mean that your mouth anatomy is off, you’re obese, you’re consuming too much alcohol, you have nasal problems, you’re sleep deprived, or your sleep position is poor. If your child is snoring a lot, it may be due to nose or throat problems, like enlarged tonsils, or obesity. Also, snoring can be associated with a sleep condition called obstructive sleep apnea.

Snoring excessively or regularly may be a sign of any of the issues we mentioned above, like obstructive sleep apnea. Because this condition is chronic and may lead to serious and even life-threatening conditions like heart disease, it’s important to address excessive snoring. There’s no harm in having your snoring evaluated by a sleep professional, and there could be significant harm in leaving your snoring untreated. You should absolutely see a doctor if your snoring is accompanied by any of the following symptoms or issues:

– Pauses in breathing during sleep (your sleep partner may notice these pauses)
– Upon waking up, a sore throat
– Excessive tiredness during the daytime
– Trouble concentrating
– Headaches in the morning
– Sleep that’s restless
– At night, gasping or choking
– High blood pressure
– At night, chest pain
– Loud snoring that disrupts your sleep partner
– In children, behavioral issues, poor performance in school, and/or poor attention

At Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders, we have methods of evaluating snoring, like performing a sleep study. We’ll help you determine whether your snoring is a sign of something like obstructive sleep apnea.

Snoring can be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, and obstructive sleep apnea may lead to problems like diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart attack, heart disease, or other cardiovascular problems. Heart problems are chronic, serious, and life-threatening. In children, obstructive sleep apnea can lead to behavioral issues, health issues, and other problems. It can be easy to prevent snoring and these other problems with the help of a clinic like ours.

There are different causes of snoring and thus different fixes for snoring, like losing weight, treating nasal congestion, avoiding sleep deprivation, or avoiding sleeping on your back. However, any of these things alone might not address your snoring if it’s caused by a condition like obstructive sleep apnea. To fix snoring and address obstructive sleep apnea, it might be necessary to get CPAP therapy, but many patients find this therapy inconvenient and uncomfortable. Oral appliance therapy may be better for you. This therapy can actually prevent the conditions that cause obstructive sleep apnea and snoring in the first place, and many patients experience 90% symptom relief. We provide oral appliance therapy here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders.

To learn more about us, oral appliance therapy, sleep apnea, or snoring, or to book a consultation with us about your snoring, give us a call at our clinic. We’re available at (855) 977-0400, and we have multiple locations in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin. Please see our Locations page for the one nearest you, and call us today!