close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staff
Your doctor will likely first recommend lifestyle changes, such as losing weight, avoiding alcohol close to bedtime and changing sleeping positions. If lifestyle changes don't eliminate snoring, your doctor may suggest:
- Oral appliances. Oral appliances are form-fitting dental mouthpieces that help advance the position of your tongue and soft palate to keep your air passage open. If you choose to use an oral appliance, visit your dental specialist at least once every six months during the first year, and then at least annually after that, to have the fit checked and to make sure that your condition isn't worsening. Excessive salivation, dry mouth, jaw pain and facial discomfort are possible side effects from wearing these devices.
- Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This approach involves wearing a pressurized mask over your nose while you sleep. The mask is attached to a small pump that forces air through your airway, which keeps it open. CPAP (SEE-pap) eliminates snoring and prevents sleep apnea. Although CPAP is the preferred method of treating obstructive sleep apnea, and it's effective, some people find it uncomfortable or have trouble adjusting to the noise of the machine. If you're having trouble adjusting to the machine, talk with your doctor before giving up. There are adjustments that can be made, such as adding a heated humidifier, that might help make you more comfortable.
- Palatal implants. In this procedure, known as the Pillar procedure, braided strands of polyester filament are injected into your soft palate, which stiffens it and reduces snoring. There aren't any known serious side effects from this procedure; however, the strands sometimes come out on their own.
- Traditional surgery. In a procedure called uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), you're given general anesthesia and your surgeon tightens and trims excess tissues — a type of face-lift for your throat. The risks of this procedure include bleeding, infection, pain and nasal congestion.
- Laser surgery. In an outpatient surgery for snoring called laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP), your doctor uses a small hand-held laser beam to shorten the soft palate and remove your uvula. Removing excess tissue enlarges your airway and reduces vibration. You may need more than one session to get your snoring under control. Laser surgery generally isn't recommended for sleep apnea, because it hasn't been proven effective for sleep apnea. Possible risks from this procedure include pain, infection, bleeding and nasal congestion.
- Radiofrequency tissue ablation (somnoplasty). In this type of surgery, doctors use a low-intensity radiofrequency signal to remove part of the soft palate to reduce snoring. It's an outpatient procedure performed during local anesthesia. The effectiveness of this newer procedure needs further study. Generally, this procedure is less painful than other types of snoring surgery.
References
- Snoring. American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/snoring.cfm. Accessed April 10, 2010.
- Troell RJ, et al. Sleep apnea and sleep-disordered breathing. Classification of sleep disorders. In: Cummings CW, et al. Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/194312835-3/0/1263/677.html?tocnode=49544117&fromURL=677.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-01985-4..50078-2_2965. Accessed April 10, 2010.
- Snoring and sleep apnea. American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. http://www.aaoms.org/sleep_apnea.php. Accessed April 10, 2010.
- Beninati W. Overview of snoring in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 6, 2010.
- Sterni LM, et al. Obstructive sleep apnea in children. In: Cummings CW, et al. Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/194312835-3/0/1263/1656.html?tocnode=49548178&fromURL=1656.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-01985-4..50186-6_7026. Accessed April 10, 2010.
- Basner RC. Continuous positive airway pressure for obstructive sleep apnea. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;356:1751.
- Oral cavity and pharynx. In: Rakel RE. Textbook of Family Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/194312835-3/981212438/1481/284.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2467-5..50027-0--cesec128_1281. Accessed April 10, 2010.
- Beninati W. Treatment of adults with snoring. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 6, 2010.
- Panossian LA, et al. Review of sleep disorders. Medical Clinics of North America. 2009;93:407
- MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane). Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed April 10, 2010.
- Puhan MA, et al. Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: Randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal. 2006;332:1.
- Ernst AOE. Can singing exercises reduce snoring? A pilot study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2000;8:151.
Find Mayo Clinic on