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Help for Spouses of Snoring Individuals

If you are a chronic snorer, you have probably been searching for snoring help for quite some time. Do not feel discouraged! Forty-five percent of adults snore occasionally, while twenty-five percent are habitual snorers. Sadly enough, most of these individuals share your frustration.

Luckily, however, you have stumbled upon a great place to find out everything you need to know about snoring, such as the following: the main causes of snoring, what causes sleep apnea, information on somnoplasty procedures, and information on surgical treatments. Once you fully understand these four categories, you will be better suited to make an informed decision on how to treat your snoring and have a more peaceful night's sleep for both you and your partner!

Basic Categories for Snoring Help

As previously mentioned, there are four basic categories for snoring help. The first tells of the main causes of snoring help. Usually, snoring occurs when the tonsils, the palate, and the uvula relax during sleep, partially obstructing the airway. As air moves over these muscles, it causes the vibrating noise known as snoring. Often, snoring is also associated with sleep apnea, during which an individual stops breathing for a short time period. This can, as you can imagine, be quite dangerous to an individual's health. During the first type of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, the relaxed muscles previously mentioned completely block the airway for a short period. The other, more rare, form of sleep apnea is central sleep apnea, during which the brain fails to signal the lungs to breathe.

If your snoring warrants surgery, somnoplasty is the least invasive of the two commonly used methods. In somnoplasty, low-power, low-temperature radio frequency energy is used to treat a well-defined portion of the uvula or soft palate. Then, over the next four to six weeks, the treated tissue is naturally removed by the body, thereby reducing the amount of tissue that can relax and block the airway in the future. The entire procedure lasts less than thirty minutes, and patients generally just feel as though they are getting a common cold.

The other surgical procedure is LAUP, or laser assisted uvula-palatoplasty, during which a laser is used to reshape the uvula. The surgery consists of three to five sessions, four weeks apart, lasting about ten minutes each. Unfortunately, insurance companies rarely cover the procedure unless it is needed for obstructive sleep apnea.

Whatever procedure you choose, make sure that you understand the risks involved and are comfortable with your physician. Good luck as you search for a peaceful night's sleep!

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