a 'snoring' question

[GrammaBear]

Maybe I should know the answer to this question, but I don't - so thought I would ask here on the forum.

My husband is average weight and has a slim build. He snores only once in a while. When he snores he doesn't sound like he is gasping for air, but I can hear him snoring. Is the snoring a reason to make an appointment with a sleep doctor? Hubby rarely complains that he doesn't sleep well.

[zonk]

Hi GrammaBear
Not every one who is snore have sleep apnea but someone who have sleep apnea also snores

Let him take the "Daytime Sleepiness Test"
http://www.apneaboard.com/sleep-apnea-in...iness-test

Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php..._%28ESS%29

[skram]

I did not have any of the standard symptoms - gasping for breath, or daytime sleepiness (well maybe a little, but nothing to the degree that is usually associated with Apnea).

My wife would often nudge me if I was sleeping no my back and snoring. I would roll to my side and stop. She noticed that I had started snoring in any position and that the snoring got louder. That prompted me to talk to my doctor and then go to the sleep clinic.

I was diagnosed with Moderate (AHI of 15 which is the borderline between mild and moderate) Sleep Apnea. It might really be higher as I did not sleep well during the study (at home study with the ARES device strapped to my forehead) and the tech said if I had deeper sleep, it might have increased).

With the CPAP, I no longer snore. It's hard for me to comment on the daytime sleepiness, as I had a cold the first week on the machine and am in the middle of another one!

So, snoring can be the only noticeable symptom.

[Sleepster]

When he snores he doesn't sound like he is gasping for air, but I can hear him snoring.

The snoring alone is not really an indicator of apnea. Watch hime when he's snoring and see if it causes him to stop breathing.

There is a simple in-office procedure for snoring called somnoplasty. A small flap of tissue is clipped away under a local anesthetic.

My wife snores. My solution is to wear ear plugs.

[GrammaBear]

When he snores he doesn't sound like he is gasping for air, but I can hear him snoring.

The snoring alone is not really an indicator of apnea. Watch hime when he's snoring and see if it causes him to stop breathing.

There is a simple in-office procedure for snoring called somnoplasty. A small flap of tissue is clipped away under a local anesthetic.

My wife snores. My solution is to wear ear plugs.

I guess the fact that I can 'hear' him is what surprised me. Let me explain: I have a serious hearing disability and must wear a hearing aid to have any kind of a normal life. When I go to bed I remove the hearing aid and my ability to hear is greatly diminished. This can be an advantage such as when a summer thunderstorm is happening. In other words, any noise that I hear without the hearing aid is considered fairly loud. I will watch him next time he snores and see if he stops breathing.

[herbm]

When he snores he doesn't sound like he is gasping for air, but I can hear him snoring.

The snoring alone is not really an indicator of apnea. Watch hime when he's snoring and see if it causes him to stop breathing.

There is a simple in-office procedure for snoring called somnoplasty. A small flap of tissue is clipped away under a local anesthetic.

My wife snores. My solution is to wear ear plugs.

I guess the fact that I can 'hear' him is what surprised me. Let me explain: I have a serious hearing disability and must wear a hearing aid to have any kind of a normal life. When I go to bed I remove the hearing aid and my ability to hear is greatly diminished. This can be an advantage such as when a summer thunderstorm is happening. In other words, any noise that I hear without the hearing aid is considered fairly loud. I will watch him next time he snores and see if he stops breathing.

First all the other answers were really good, this is just a bit more perspective about the snoring thing.

I had NONE of the "comfort" symptoms, no headaches, no unexplained tiredness, no mental fogginess, concentration issues, nor memory loss, etc.

My wife never perceived that I stopped breathing but she said that I snored for more than 20 years despite a NEGATIVE sleep study 20 years ago.

The snoring continued whether I was keeping my weight down or not.

Turns out that *I* have a naturally narrow upper airway and it doesn't take much to close it and that this had developed into apnea despite the earlier negative sleep study.

I did have the "medical symtom" however of hypertension.

My dentist caught the issue on his standard intake 3D-CAT scan of my head, and offered me a (cheap) home Pulse Ox test for 2 nights (US $160.)

I jumped at the chance and while such a test is not definitive the results were significant enough to suggest going to the sleep doc and doing another study. (20-35 events per hour and these run LESS frequent than the AHI typically.)

So I personally have been on BOTH sides of the line: Snoring but no apnea, and almost no other symptoms but severe apnea (AHI 49).

If in doubt, either go to the sleep doc or at least get one of the home screening studies.