The nuisance called snoring

Anybody who snores, softly or loudly, with the nosey sound interfering with another's sleep or dismantling roof-tops, is always the butt of a great deal of jokes. Jokes apart, a snorer's constant spells of cacophony causes not only distraction, but also discontent in everyone's ear. In addition to this, snoring leads to ridicule and shame in familial and social circles. This is not all. In one's noisy journey, the eternal snorer may also be forced to deal with pitched battles vis-à-vis marital problems, constant tiredness, unsatisfactory output at the workplace and lack of personal cohesion and effectiveness.

Snoring is no luxury sport. Almost 45 per cent of the human race snore at some period, with another 25 per cent fulfilling the requirements to being classified as chronic snorers. While it is the males who seem to have a powerful preponderance for the nosey affair than women, some ailments, including medications, not to speak of a host of other factors can also cause occasional snoring.

The decibels of how a marriage, or relationship, is working - whether the sound is in the noise, and vice versa - is one area of snoring most often covered in our newspapers and/or magazines etc., In other words, it projects the drama, or the "pitch," for that inevitable husband-wife conflict, or rift.

Jokes apart, snoring can ruin a relationship, or make it sour, and also end up in divorce.

Scene 1. Act 1.

When the husband, for example, goes to sleep, all is quiet. Slowly, his nosey build-up takes the quiet out of wedlock.

The wife can't take one bit of the snoring "blast." She wakes him up without regret - though she may also snore! She reprimands him for snoring, and disturbing her sleep. Quietly, the husband slips back, promising to avoid the "snorter-like" effect getting the better of him again!

A few moments later, his snoring is back to its original rhythm - taking off from where it left. The wife is now furious. It is the beginning of the end of another sleepless night… and, for a wedding troubled by redundant clatter.

Sleep apnoea

Snoring may not destroy sleep, but it has the potential to lead to sleep apnoea - a life-threatening condition. Apnoea, in simple terms, is upper airway obstruction during sleep. It is linked with frequent awakening and daytime sleepiness. In addition, snoring is often associated with other sleep disorders, including "restless leg syndrome" - which is caused by spasm in the arms and legs during sleep.

During sleep apnoea, the snorer stops breathing for several seconds. S/he quickly breathes air again, and slides back to sleep. It is a familiar sight which most of us have been witness to, irrespective of the fact whether we snore or don't!

The why and how of it

Snoring occurs when the throat constricts, or collapses, and partly blocks the airway. What actually leads to the noise are the tongue and upper throat, or soft palate, the tonsils and uvula, during breathing. The uvula is the flap of skin that dangles from the back of the throat. When air whips in and out, the flap flutters. The resultant effect is the typical snoring "broadcast."

Also, the snoring effect, as you know, is variable - you have a host of noises, sounds, beats, and tunes. Each unique to the player - call it a one-[wo]man orchestra, or what you may. This is, of course, no sweet sound, or pipe music, or melody to our ears.

Ignorance is, quite simply, bliss for the one who snores - not for the one who is compelled to hear. Experts say that snoring can reach the 80-decibel level - the level of noise produced by your home's small, portable drilling machine in full throttle.

Snoring, on its own, can knock off the other person's ear and mind. It is dangerous to the stability of professional relationships. It is, therefore, not without reason that some people are quite acutely aware of their snoring patterns and the distress it can cause to others. This also explains why many snorers are not keen to share a room with their colleagues - during a seminar, workshop, or conference.

Severe snoring

In severe states of snoring, sleep apnoea can halt breathing in snorers for almost half-a-minute. If this happens, the body goes into alarm mode, as the oxygen supply gets cut off. Soon after, the heart pumps frantically in order to find oxygenated blood to flow. Following this, the heart rate also rises. This signals the brain, which, in turn, arouses the snorer from sleep and drives him to open the throat - and, "gulp" air. However, once the chain is broken, the snorer quietly slips back to sleep as if nothing had gone wrong.

Following a night of constant waking and sleeping, the snorer often works up a headache and struggles to stay awake through a “drowsy” day. This is no small struggle: it lays stress on the heart during the night and increases blood pressure. In cases where snoring is excessive, there is a potential possibility or threat of a heart attack at any point of the day, or night.

Fat, the culprit

Snoring tends to be more prevalent in people who are obese, or overweight. This is due to increased fatty tissues in the throat which narrow the airway. In addition to this, overweight individuals have poor muscle tone. This causes the soft palate to droop during sleep: the smaller the airway, the noisier the snoring. This is also one main reason why obese individuals are asked by their doctors to lose weight.

Exercise your snore away

Yes, there's an anti-snoring exercise you can do at home. Hold your upper and lower molars together, gently. Open your mouth. Press your molars as wide as you can. Don't stretch. Repeat 10-15 times. This exercise helps strengthen your jaw muscles and opens the back of your mouth. Remember: the muscles that you "contract" in the back of your throat, during exercise, are mainly to blame for your snoring!

Professional help

When home remedies fail [see box], it is ideal to seek the advice of an otolaryngologist, or ENT specialist, to think in terms of medical treatment. The specialist may first advise non-invasive orthotic devices, at a dentist's clinic. These mouthpieces pull the jaw down and forward, and open the airway wider at the base of the tongue. There are different types of mouthpieces: some hold the jaw firmly in place; some allow for a little movement. However, the downside is: orthotic devices are expensive, and they don't seem to have a consistent record. Also, no doctor can forecast their success.

Experts say that the most common and most effective treatment for snoring/sleep apnoea is continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP], where the snorer wears an oxygen mask that gently forces air into the lungs all night long. CPAP has a high success rate. On the other hand, ENT surgeons recommend state-of-the-art surgical treatment for snoring. Most of the surgical methods in use seem to do the same job of tightening or removing the soft tissue at the back of the throat, with variations. They are not comparable to CPAP as far as success rates are concerned. They also seem to only work in about 30-40 per cent of cases.

Things to avoid

• Don't sip alcohol, or smoke, before bed-time. This aggravates snoring
• Avoid the use of tranquillisers, sleeping pills, or anti-cold, and anti-allergy medications [anti-histamines], before bed-time.