Snoring Surgery - Treatment & Operation to Stop

Signs and Symptoms of Snoring

If you are concerned about you or your loved one’s snoring, our guide below highlights some of the most common issues to look out for.

We also have several questionnaires to assess your symptoms and offer a guide as to whether treatment may be necessary. If you answer Yes to any of the questions, please click here to book an appointment with one of our ENT specialists.

Excessive Sleepiness Test – Are you tired during the day? Wake up and take the test to see how good your sleep really is.

STOP-bang Test – Test to see if your snoring may be associated with the known risk factors for obstructive sleep apnoea. Take the test

Snoring Symptoms

Restless sleep
Awakening with choking, gasping, or smothering
Morning headaches, dry mouth, or sore throat
Waking frequently to urinate
Awakening unrested, groggy
Low energy, difficulty concentrating, memory impairment

Snoring causes

Men are more commonly affected than women
Middle and older age
Being overweight or obese
Having a small mouth and throat

Snoring in children

Snoring-related symptoms in children that may be caused by Obstructive Sleep Apnoea include:

Poor concentration or behavioural concerns at school
Hyper-activity and inattention
Loud or noisy breathing throughout the night

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in children can be screened for and graded using a home Oximetry test. This simple finger probe test will record your child’s oxygen levels throughout the night, and from this test, we will be able to calculate the risk of your child having any breathing related problems immediately after surgery. This will help us decide on the level of in-hospital post-operative monitoring required. Read information about Prevention of Paediatric Inhaled Foreign Body

Related Issues

Snoring can sometimes be an underlying symptom of GORD or Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

The main symptoms of OSA are loud snoring, fatigue, & daytime sleepiness.
- However, some people have no symptoms. For example, if the person does not have a
  bed partner, he or she may not be aware of the snoring. Fatigue and sleepiness have
  many causes and are often attributed to overwork and increasing age. As a result, a
  person may be slow to recognize that they have a problem. A bed partner or spouse
  often prompts the patient to seek medical care.

Snoring Treatments

At Melbourne ENT, we always recommend a multi-disciplinary approach for the assessment and treatment of snoring related disorders. This can entail working with a sleep/respiratory physician, dentist, sleep psychologist, and/or dietician.

Lifestyle Changes:

Improve sleep hygiene
- Try to have a regular sleep time, and obtain an adequate amount of sleep every night (this varies from person to person)
- Minimise pre sleep activities such as TV, exercise
Adjust sleep position
Weight loss
Avoid alcohol and other sedatives

Devices:

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
- The most effective treatment for sleep apnea uses air pressure from a mechanical
  device to keep the upper airway open during sleep.
Dental devices
- A dental device, called an oral appliance or mandibular advancement device (MAD),
  can reposition the jaw (mandible), bringing the tongue and soft palate forward as
  well.

Surgical treatment:

Surgery can be used to address the bony and soft tissues that are causing the obstruction. This may involve nasal surgery, palate elevation and stiffening surgery, tongue volume reduction surgery, or other lower airway surgery, or a combination of these. Newer surgical techniques such as Coblation and ENT-ceps can also be utilised, which generally result in less pain and shorter recovery times than traditional methods.

See information about Nasal Obstruction and Septoplasty Effectiveness

See information about our Septoplasty Surgical Procedure

See information about our Sleep Apnoea Surgical Procedure

Concerns or questions?
Contact one of our ENT Specialists: