​Snoring

Snoring is the noise that occurs from nasal and oral passage when sleeping. People snore due to the partial obstruction of the airflow in the area where the tongue and the upper throat meet.  Snoring may occur occasionally, or it may be habitual when people snore every night. It may also vary from being mild to very loud, and usually affects overweight people more.

Snoring can be caused by some physical features of your mouth, such as bulky throat tissue, especially in overweight people, or a thick or long soft palate or an elongate uvula (tissue hanging from the soft palate) may obstruct your airways, as can a deviated nasal septum. Poor muscle tone of the throat and tongue muscles, which allows them to relax relatively easily, may cause them to collapse and fall into the airway. Other causes of snoring that occurs occasionally include nasal disorders, such as sinusitis, nasal polyps or rhinitis, which can cause an obstruction in the nose and your airways. 

Snoring can contribute to poor sleep patterns, disturbed sleep and also a condition called sleep apnea in some cases, whereby your breathing may get temporarily disrupted while sleeping. Obstructive sleep apnea may also put a strain on the heart. In some cases, snoring may be a symptom of an underlying medical disorder. Therefore habitual snoring must not be ignored and it’s advisable to have it evaluated by an ENT (Eye-Nose-Throat) specialist.