What Is Snoring?
Snoring is the sound made when air passes through a narrowed upper airway, causing soft tissues to vibrate during sleep. It can affect people of all ages. As you fall asleep, the soft tissues lining your throat relax. Occasional snoring, such as during a cold, is common. Frequent snoring, especially loud snoring, may need assessment for an underlying sleep disorder.
About 1 in 4 Singaporeans are loud, habitual snorers. Primary snoring means snoring without obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In this sleep disorder, the upper airway repeatedly narrows or closes during sleep, disrupting breathing and sometimes lowering blood oxygen levels. Loud snoring alone cannot tell you whether OSA is present. Both persistent snoring and OSA can disturb your bed partner’s sleep. Untreated OSA is associated with high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Don’t attribute these risks to snoring alone.
Snoring usually reflects anatomical, inflammatory, or lifestyle factors that narrow the upper airway or affect muscle tone at night. Snoring treatment depends on the cause, any underlying health condition and whether sleep apnea is present.
What Causes Snoring?
People snore for several reasons. A long or thick soft palate, enlarged tonsils or adenoids, a bulky tongue, or a small lower jaw can narrow the upper air passages. Both men and women snore, but snoring becomes more common with age and is more frequent in men. Other risk factors include:
- Alcohol Consumption: Alcohol relaxes throat muscles, which can narrow the upper airway and restrict airflow.
- Nasal Problems: Nasal congestion, nasal obstruction, allergies, sinus infections, a deviated septum, nasal valve collapse, or nasal polyps can obstruct the nasal passages and contribute to snoring. Read more about the link between a deviated septum and snoring.
- Sleep Deprivation: Not getting enough sleep can cause the throat muscles to relax excessively, leading to snoring.
- Sleeping on Your Back: Snoring is often loudest when you sleep on your back because gravity lets the tongue and soft tissues fall back, narrowing the airway.
- Body Weight: Excess weight can increase fatty tissue around the throat and narrow the upper airway. If you are overweight, losing weight may reduce snoring. People snore even at a healthy weight because of their airway anatomy.
Symptoms of Snoring
Snoring sounds vary widely among individuals, ranging from soft whistling and quiet vibrations to louder grumbling and snorting. Snoring linked to obstructive sleep apnea may occur with:
- Breathing pauses during sleep
- Gasping or choking at night
- Excessive daytime sleepiness and daytime fatigue
- Difficulty concentrating
- Morning headaches
- Dry mouth or sore throat in the morning
- Restless or disturbed sleep
- Irritability or mood changes
If you have these symptoms, consult an ENT specialist.
When to See a Snoring Specialist in Singapore
See a snoring specialist in Singapore, like Dr Barrie Tan, if chronic snoring regularly disturbs your sleep or your bed partner’s. Seek assessment promptly if there are choking episodes, gasping, witnessed breathing pauses, excessive daytime sleepiness, or high blood pressure. These symptoms may indicate sleep apnea, a sleep disorder with health risks beyond snoring.
Assess persistent snoring in a child, especially if there is mouth breathing, restless sleep, bedwetting, behavioural changes, or poor focus at school. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids commonly cause airway obstruction in childhood.
If you struggle to stay alert or might fall asleep while driving, stop driving and seek prompt medical assessment. Don’t wait until you snore heavily before seeking help.
How Is Snoring Diagnosed?
We assess snoring and possible sleep-related breathing disorders through your sleep history and an upper airway examination, with a sleep study when needed to check for sleep apnea.
During your consultation, your ENT specialist will ask about your snoring, sleep position, daytime fatigue, other symptoms, alcohol use, and medicines. Your bed partner’s observations or a short recording can help. They will also perform a physical examination of your nose, mouth, and throat. We may also assess your body mass index and other risk factors for sleep apnea. A slim flexible endoscope may be used to examine areas further back in the upper airway. A screening questionnaire such as STOP-BANG can help assess OSA risk. Questionnaires, recordings and snoring apps cannot diagnose or rule out OSA.
To further investigate the cause of your snoring, your doctor might also conduct some tests:
Imaging Tests
Imaging is not routinely needed for snoring. A CT scan or other imaging may be requested if the examination suggests a structural problem or associated sinus disease that needs further assessment.
Sleep Study (Polysomnography)
A sleep study checks whether breathing repeatedly slows or stops during sleep. A home sleep apnea test may suit adults with a high likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea and no complicating medical conditions. Polysomnography in a sleep laboratory records breathing, oxygen levels and sleep stages. It may be needed for more complex cases or when a home test is negative or inconclusive despite ongoing concern. Your ENT or sleep medicine specialist will review the results with you before recommending snoring treatment. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) counts breathing interruptions per hour of sleep and helps classify OSA as mild, moderate or severe. It does not grade snoring loudness.
Non-Surgical Management
To treat snoring, your doctor usually starts with lifestyle changes and measures to relieve nasal congestion. Devices may help when these measures are not enough. The choice depends on the cause of snoring and whether obstructive sleep apnea is present.
If allergic rhinitis causes a stuffy nose, saline rinses and prescribed steroid sprays may improve airflow through the nasal passages and reduce mouth breathing. In Singapore, bedroom dust mites can be a relevant allergy trigger. Nasal treatment may alleviate snoring, but does not correct every cause. For saline rinses, use sterile or distilled water, or water that has been boiled and cooled.
Devices can help selected patients reduce snoring. The best snoring device depends on whether narrowing is mainly in your nose or throat, and on your dental and jaw health.
Before choosing an anti-snoring device, have a healthcare professional assess frequent snoring for sleep apnea. Reducing the noise does not prove that breathing interruptions have been treated.
Repeated awakenings can leave your bed partner tired or irritable and strain your relationship. Earplugs or temporarily sleeping separately may protect their sleep while you seek treatment, but do not treat the cause of snoring. Sleeping pills are not snoring remedies. Some sleeping pills can worsen airway obstruction. Discuss prescribed sedatives with your doctor rather than stopping them yourself.
Non-surgical options include:
Lifestyle Changes
The ENT specialist may recommend avoiding alcohol before bed, quitting smoking, exercising regularly, keeping a regular sleep schedule and maintaining a healthy weight. Losing weight may improve snoring if you are overweight, but it is not a treatment for everyone who snores.
Nasal Strips
Nasal strips gently pull the sides of the nose open, while internal nasal dilators support the nostrils from within. They may help snoring related to nasal valve narrowing. They do not treat throat collapse or obstructive sleep apnea.
Oral Appliances
A mandibular advancement device is a common anti-snoring mouthguard that holds the lower jaw slightly forward during sleep. It may reduce primary snoring and help selected adults with OSA after assessment. A dentist checks your teeth and jaw, fits the appliance and monitors comfort and changes in your bite. A sports mouthguard is not a substitute.
Positional Therapy
If you snore heavily when you sleep on your back, side-sleeping may help. A positioning aid or wearable device can discourage rolling onto your back. Its effect on snoring depends on your sleep pattern and how consistently you use it.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Machine
If a doctor confirms obstructive sleep apnea, they may recommend continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). A mask delivers air that keeps the upper airway open while you sleep, treating breathing interruptions and associated snoring. CPAP is usually used for OSA rather than as the first treatment for primary snoring.
Mouth and Tongue Exercises
Myofunctional therapy uses tongue and throat exercises that may reduce snoring frequency and loudness. Evidence is limited, and regular practice is needed. Ask your clinician whether it is suitable alongside other care. It does not replace prescribed OSA treatment.
There is no single permanent cure for snoring. You may stop snoring when a temporary cause clears, but anatomical narrowing or recurring inflammation may need longer-term management.
Surgical Snoring Treatments
Consider surgery when troublesome symptoms persist despite suitable non-surgical care and an examination identifies a treatable anatomical cause. Assess OSA before choosing snoring surgery. Procedures differ in their benefits, risks, and suitability; the options below are not appropriate for everyone who wants to stop snoring.
Laser-Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP)
This laser procedure removes or reshapes soft palate tissue. Evidence of lasting benefit is limited, and scarring or swallowing problems can occur. Discuss these limitations with your surgeon before considering laser treatment for snoring.
Septoplasty
If a deviated nasal septum causes persistent nasal blockage, septoplasty can straighten it and improve nasal airflow. Turbinate reduction may also help selected patients. Nasal surgery does not reliably stop snoring or treat OSA on its own.
Palatal Implants
Palatal implants stiffen the soft palate to reduce snoring. Benefits may diminish over time, and implants can migrate out of the tissue. Discuss these limitations carefully before considering this approach.
Tongue or Palatal Surgery
These procedures reshape or reduce tissue when the soft palate or tongue contributes to airway narrowing. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses controlled heat to reduce or stiffen tissue, including the soft palate, and may reduce snoring in selected patients. Further snoring treatment may be needed. More extensive throat surgery requires careful selection based on your anatomy and sleep assessment.
Tonsillectomy or Adenoidectomy
Tonsillectomy removes the tonsils at the back of the throat. Adenoidectomy removes adenoid tissue behind the nose. These procedures may help with snoring when enlarged tonsils or adenoids obstruct the breathing passages, particularly in children.
Risks and Recovery
Risks and recovery depend on the snoring treatment you choose, your health, and the extent of any surgery.
Lifestyle changes generally carry little risk. Nasal sprays may cause irritation or nosebleeds. Oral appliances can cause jaw or tooth discomfort, or bite changes, which is why dentist-led fitting and follow-up are important.
Initial recovery after nasal surgery often takes a few days to a couple of weeks, although internal swelling may last longer. Palate procedures can cause throat discomfort and changes in swallowing. Tonsil surgery carries a risk of bleeding during recovery. Follow your surgeon’s instructions on pain relief, food and activity. Breathing difficulty or fresh bleeding from the throat after surgery needs urgent medical attention.
Snoring may persist or return after treatment. Follow-up checks whether snoring has improved and whether you have any side effects. If you have OSA, quieter snoring alone does not confirm the condition is controlled; you may need repeat sleep testing.
How to Prevent Snoring
You cannot prevent every cause of snoring, but changes to your sleep habits and health may help you stop snoring. Practical steps include:
- Quit Smoking: Smoking irritates the tissues lining the upper air passages. People who quit smoking often snore less.
- Avoid Alcohol and Sedatives: Avoid alcohol before bedtime. Ask your prescriber whether sleeping pills or sedative medicines may worsen snoring, and whether an alternative is suitable. Do not stop prescribed medicines without advice.
- Manage Nasal Congestion: Talk to your doctor about persistent nasal obstruction and appropriate care for allergies or a stuffy nose. Reducing bedroom dust and washing bedding regularly may help if dust mites trigger your symptoms.
- Lose Weight: If you are overweight, gradual weight loss may reduce tissue around the throat. Regular exercise and a healthy weight can help limit weight-related snoring.
- Adjust Sleep Position: Try sleeping on your side instead of your back. You can also elevate your head slightly while sleeping to help keep your upper airways more open.
How Barrie Tan ENT Can Help
Dr Barrie Tan is an ENT specialist who assesses snoring and sleep apnea at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore. An assessment identifies nasal or throat narrowing and whether you need a sleep study before choosing snoring treatment.
At Barrie Tan ENT Head & Neck Surgery, snoring treatment plans may include care for nasal blockage, advice on snoring devices, dental referral for a mandibular advancement device, CPAP support for OSA, and targeted ENT procedures for suitable patients. We may arrange sleep medicine input if your symptoms or test results need further assessment.
If snoring is affecting your sleep quality or your bed partner’s sleep, contact Barrie Tan ENT Head & Neck Surgery at Gleneagles Hospital for a consultation. Dr Tan can explain the findings, treatment options and follow-up needed for your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is snoring always caused by sleep apnea?
No. People can snore without sleep apnea, but loud, habitual snoring with choking, pauses, or severe sleepiness should be assessed for sleep apnea.
What is the fastest way to reduce snoring tonight?
To help reduce or stop snoring, avoid alcohol, sleep on your side, and treat nasal congestion. However, if symptoms are severe or long-standing, get assessed rather than relying on short-term fixes.
Do nasal strips or nasal dilators work?
They can help when snoring is driven by nasal narrowing, but they will not fix throat collapse or sleep apnea.
Can an anti-snoring mouthguard replace CPAP?
A custom mandibular advancement device may suit some people with OSA, but don’t switch from CPAP without medical advice. A dentist and sleep medicine clinician should assess suitability, with follow-up sleep testing to check that treatment works.
When should I have a sleep study?
A sleep study may be recommended if snoring occurs with breathing pauses, choking, marked sleepiness, morning headaches or raised blood pressure. Your specialist will assess your snoring, other symptoms and health to decide which test is appropriate.
Can surgery cure snoring?
Surgery may reduce snoring by addressing the main area of narrowing or vibration, but it does not guarantee a permanent cure. Snoring can persist or return. The choice depends on your airway anatomy, response to non-surgical care and, where needed, sleep study results.
