Apnea snoring is one of those terms that can be kind of confusing. Although sleep apnea
and snoring are closely related, not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. Likewise,
most people who have sleep apnea snore but there are exceptions.
To make more sense of this it is helpful to take a detailed look at both snoring and apnea.
With a normal airway, air passes through the nose and past the flexible structures in the
back of the throat (soft palate, uvula and tongue). During sleep the muscles relax but
normally the airway should stay open. When you sleep on your back, gravity does make
the tongue fall back more, but if the muscles have good tone they will prevent snoring by
keeping the airway open.
Individual anatomy does play a role also, as a large tongue and/or excessive soft tissue in
the throat area (a large uvula or large tonsils) can make it more difficult to keep the
airway open.
Snoring is created by the vibration of the soft palate and uvula against the tongue as air
passes through an airway that is too small to allow for smooth, unimpeded airflow.
With snoring that is not associated with apnea, the back of the tongue is not resting
completely against the back wall of the airway so that some air is still able to pass
through the airway. When the air flow is partially restricted as is the case with snoring,
this often causes what is referred to as Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS).
Individuals with Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome have some of the same symptoms
as those individuals who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The most common
symptom is fragmented, non-refreshing light sleep which results in excessive daytime
sleepiness.
With OSA, the entire upper airway is blocked which causes airflow to stop. Airflow must
completely stop for at least 10 seconds for it to be considered as an apneic event.
This blockage is caused by the base or back of the tongue resting entirely against the
back wall of the airway, and it results in a complete stop of the airflow. If the airflow
stops for at least 10 seconds and this occurs five to 15 times per hour while
you are sleeping, then this is considered mild OSA.
If the airflow stops for at least 10 seconds but it happens 15 to 30 times per hour while
sleeping then it is referred to as moderate OSA. And if it occurs more than 30 times per
hour then this is considered severe OSA.
Most people who have sleep apnea also tend to snore. With sleep apnea the tongue does
not completely block the airway though out the entire night. Depending on how much
and for how long the tongue blocks the airway, a partial blockage may occur causing
snoring but no sleep apnea.
Apnea snoring means that you have a combination of both snoring and apnea. The two
events are usually separate, so that when snoring is heard from someone who has apnea,
partial airflow is occurring and there is not a complete blockage resulting in an apneic
event.
Also, when someone who has OSA stops breathing for at least 10 seconds, this can cause
a gasping for air when breathing resumes. The gasping can resemble snoring. If you are
sleeping in the same room as an individual who gasps for air throughout the night then
sleep apnea is most likely occurring.
The usual treatment for sleep apnea is to use a CPAP machine that keeps the airway open
by blowing air through a mask that you wear through out the night. CPAP can stop the
snoring but unfortunately is tolerated by less than 50% of those who try it.
Another option to stop apnea snoring is to use a snoring mouthpiece that positions the
lower jaw forward and keeps the tongue away from the palate, uvula and back wall of the
airway.
