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Conditions

Snoring

The effects of snoring

Many people will have experienced sleeping with a snorer. In fact, some may even have been driven to the point of hovering menacingly over their partner’s face with a pillow, fully intending to suffocate them with gleeful abandon. However, 41.5% of the UK population snores, which amounts to 15 million snorers – 10.4 million males and 4.5 million females – so we shouldn’t turn these adenoidally challenged folk into pariahs. The sound of snoring is made when you breathe through your mouth and nose when you’re asleep. But when that air doesn’t move smoothly through your air passages, it makes tissue in your mouth, nose and throat vibrate as the air passes through. Some causes of snoring are related to lifestyle, (being overweight, smoking, drinking alcohol etc), so there are changes you can make to minimise the snoring. But if the self-help methods don’t work, then there’s only one thing for it…no, not the pillow…visit your GP.

The British Lung Foundation are promoting awareness of obstructive sleep apnoea. You can take an OSA test to find out your risks.

What the Men in White Coats Say

Comments and Questions

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My partner is 31 years of age, he is not overweight, eats healthily and is very fit, however i think he may have sleep apnia, when he falls asleep he stops breathing for a few seconds then starts snoring again, it disrupts his sleep (and also mine) however we do not know what to do about it or how to help prevent it, i have read recently that people with these kind of sleeping patterns can develop heart problems, can you please give us any advice.





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I am 24 and have a strange clicking noise when I sleep, I also apparently breathe really heavily. My boyfriend is a light sleeper and it drives him crazy, it also effects our relationship as I have to constantly sleep in the other room or we fall out over it as we are both so tired. I don't seem to have the problem as much in the summer but it always gets worse in the colder months. I have tried Hayfever tablets and a mouth guard from the doctor but nothing seems to work. It sounds as though my nose and throat are blocked when I wake up but when I sleep there is a constant clicking when I breathe. Does anyone have any suggestions how to get rid of this as I don't think we can cope with it much longer!!





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I snore quite loudly,but for a while now i keep jumping up randomly.Is this beause of my snoring?.Am i waking myself up?





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I wake up though out the night by chocking. It mainly feels like im drowning. My gp doesnt seem to have any answers. I saw an episodie tonight about sleep deprivation and someone stoped breathing for 20 secounds and it made me think is that happening to me? How do you know that?





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I am 51 and have started making a clicking noise. I think it is in my throat, when im asleep. I have been to the doctors who have told me i will just have to live with it but it is keeping my partner awake as he is a light sleeper and it is ruining our relationship.





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Hello, I am 36 years old and only started snoring when i was pregnant with my first child 8 years ago. I wake my husband every night, and most of the time he goes and sleeps on the couch. I am now starting to wake up both of my children as well. I am over weight but the doctor said that my neck was not to big and causing any obstruction. My doctors have not offered any other advice, and i dont know what i can do. Please help.





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over the last 2 years i have been sleeping with my boyfriend(or at least attempted to. He snores every time i sleep with him. i am an extremely light sleeper and have to use ear plugs to try n block it out but find it hard to use them every night as the cause me ear infections, cuts and spots in my ears and are very painfull. i dont know what to do anymore. i cant sleep with him for his snoring but cant sleep without him because i suffer from severe nightmares constantly every night so i cant win either way but its gone on long enough but dont know what to do. he has been to the doctors before and they perscribed him hayfever tablets which did him no good what so ever so im stuck and need help. its ruining our relationship!!!





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My girlfriend had the same problem with me and i use suddafed nose spray you can get it in most supermarkets or chemists cost around £4 and lasts for weeks. works great and i get a good nights sleep to.

over the last 2 years i have been sleeping with my boyfriend(or at least attempted to. He snores every time i sleep with him. i am an extremely light sleeper and have to use ear plugs to try n block it out but find it hard to use them every night as the cause me ear infections, cuts and spots in my ears and are very painfull. i dont know what to do anymore. i cant sleep with him for his snoring but cant sleep without him because i suffer from severe nightmares constantly every night so i cant win either way but its gone on long enough but dont know what to do. he has been to the doctors before and they perscribed him hayfever tablets which did him no good what so ever so im stuck and need help. its ruining our relationship!!!





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I was diagnosed with sleep apnoea in 1994 (I was 30 years old at the time) and had an opeation to remove part of my soft palate (as that was found to be too large and hung in the back of my mouth blocking my airway) and I also had my Uvula removed. My condition improved after that but over the past 10 years or so my snoring has got quite bad again and increasingly I am finding I am getting very easily tired and often drowsy through the day. Do I still have apnoea and what can I do about it?





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Hello, I am 36 years old and I have been suffering for snoring now about 20+ years. Is getting worse now. In middle of my sleep I am feeling like been suffocated and I am waking up 2 or 4 times in the night sometimes without remembering in the morning. The funny side of it is, I am not bordering my wife anymore after 10+ years together she used to sleep and cannot get sleep if I am away. Can you help me?





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It looks like no one else has asked this question, so please fill in the rest of your details below.





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Content supplied by NHS Choices

Snoring is a sound made when you breathe through your mouth and nose when you are asleep. It happens when air does not move smoothly through your air passages, making tissue in your mouth, nose and throat vibrate as the air passes through. Read More »

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