You can actually diagnose your own snoring problem by doing a few simple tests at home. These are the tests that a Sleep Apnea Center would start you out with. So you can find out what’s causing your snoring and find a a treatment that’s right for you.  The good news about snoring is that it most cases, snoring can be controlled.

1.  Test Your Nose

• As you’re looking into the mirror, press the side and completely close of one of your nostrils.
• With your mouth closed, take a breath in through your other nostril.
• If you see that your other nostril collapsing, prop it open with the clean end of match stick.
• If you find that you breath easier, this is more than likely what’s causing you to snore.
• If  you’re not breathing well through the nose, your nasal passages are more than likely stuffed up.

1a. Action You Can Take

Think about what may be causing your nasal passages to be clogged. It could be any number of things including seasonal allergies, feather bedding and pillows, pet hair, perfumes, cleaning products or dust mites. Try using Breathe Right Nasal Strips. You can also clear your nasal passages with some of these herbal remedies.

2.  Test Your Mouth

Open your mouth and try to make a snoring noise. Then close your mouth and again, try making the noise. If you find that you can snore with your mouth open, than your a “mouth breather”.

2a. Action You Can Take

Use a chin strap or mouth guard to encourage you to breathe correctly through your nose

3.  Test Your Tongue

Stick your tongue out as far out as possible and grip it between your teeth and try to make a snoring noise. If you find that your snoring is reduced in this position, than your a tongue based snorer.

3a. Action You Can Take

Use a mouth guard to keep your tongue in place.

4. If These Tests Don’t Work for You

If you find that you don’t fit into one of these three categories than either your soft palate and ulva are vibrating. This is often the cause in people who are a normal weight. You may also be a Multifactoral Snoring. This means that your snoring originates from several different areas. For instance you could be a tongue based snorer and a palatal flutter.


Diagnosing a snoring problem can be as simple as losing weight. More often than not, being overweight may be the culprit. Here’s an online calculator to check your Body Mass Index.  If your BMI is greater than 25 you are overweight. If your BMI is greater than 30 then you are obese. In these instances, losing weight will help you to stop snoring.

Can you believe that snoring is the number way medical cause for breakups and divorces? It is that common! Here’s a really excellent video that you can see visually exactly what is happening when you snore and some common causes.

Facts About Snoring

• Obese and males tend to have more problems with snoring.
• There’s over 300 devices patented to help cure snoring.
• Twenty percent of the population experience snoring problems.
• When a person sleeps on their back the snoring tends to be louder.

What Causes Snoring?

The most common cause of snoring is when breathing is obstructed from the vibrating of soft tissue in your throat. This tissue is the tonsils, uvula and palate can vibrate which cause the snoring sound. The narrower the opening in the throat,  the louder the snoring sound. Also if you have an obstruction blocking your air passage, an irregularity in your throat or nose, allergies or a cold these can all be a cause of snoring.

Your more likely to snore if you have one of these conditions:

• Nasal airways that are obstructed
• An excess of bulky throat tissue
• Long uvula tissues and/or palate at the back of the mouth
• Poor muscle tone in the throat and tongue

It’s important to diagnose and fix your snoring problem before it’s too late! First and foremost, your wife will finally able to sleep. Second, snoring can be a serious medical problem because it deprives you of necessary rest and disturbs your sleep patterns. which isn’t good for your health. Also you’re more apt to suffer from high blood pressure and other various illnesses.

Snoring can be caused by any number of things. You almost have to do a little detective work. You can find out from trial and error what could be the cause of your snoring. It could be something very simple to fix or require further help from a doctor who specializes in nasal snoring and sleep apnea. Here’s to talk about snoring is Dr. Jordan Josephson, a leading ear, nose and throat specialist.

Causes of Snoring Problems

• A common contributor to snoring is being overweight.
• If you have any type of blockage anywhere from your throat to the tip of your nose.
• If you have a weekend or slightly deviated nasal passage.
• The muscles in your throat can relax from sleeping pills or alcohol.
• If you’re not overweight, then other causes such as a enlarged adenoids or tonsils may cause you trouble breathing and will lead to snoring.

Treatments

• Simple lifestyle changes may do the trick for you. Try to lay on your side while sleeping, cut down on alcohol and smoking.
• If you’re overweight, check your body mass index with this calculator and try to lose enough weight until your in the healthy bmi range.

Check to see if Breath Right Nasal Strips work for you. Apply one at the tip of your nose to open your air passages. They may not work for everyone but at least this will help to diagnose your snoring problem. You can always go see a doctor who specializes in nasal snoring, sleep apnea or an ear, nose and throat doctor.


A snoring problem may also be a associated with sleep apnea, which would require further diagnosis with a sleep study.

Sleep apnea and snoring are both “sleep disorder breathing.”  The difference is that snoring is a mild sleep disorder where there’s only a partial obstruction of the upper airway. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is where there’s complete obstruction during sleep. It’s classified as OSA when the snorer completely stops breathing for 10 seconds or more. There could be 20 – 30 of these events during the night.

The Signs of Sleep Apnea

Waking up and feeling tired in the morning
Feeling tired during the day or evening
Really loud and heavy snoring
Falling asleep during unusual times like eating or talking
Restless sleeping
Headaches in the morning
Personality changes
High blood pressure
Severe leg swelling
Body mass index over 25
Frequently going to the washroom
Hyperactive behavior is common in children who snore
Loud snoring punctuated by silences and then a snort or choking sound as you resume breathing
While driving – limited attention, drowsy,  poor judgment, memory loss

If you find that your not sleepy during the day but you still have restless sleep you can try several of the diagnosis and remedies listed on this site. You can take the wait and see approach to see if  your snoring gets better. Although if you find that you or your partner is snoring heavy and loud, having restless sleep and is also sleepy during the day, you should talk to your doctor.

Who Can Help You With Your Sleep Apnea?

There are several different health professionals who can check if you have symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. You can start with your family doctor or pediatrician who can than refer you to other professionals for treatment.

• Family medicine physicians
• Pediatricians
• Nurse practitioners
• Physician assistants
• Dentists – If you need an oral breathing device
• Cardiologist – If you have heart problems
• Ear Nose and Throat Specialist – If you need surgery to correct an injury, defect or to remove excess tissue

Since sleep apnea is so dangerous to your health, it’s important to pay attention to the signs. The good news is that some sleep apnea patients can see a result in only one night, once they are treated. Also, if you’re wondering about what happens during a sleep test, read more about it here.

A sleep apnea study is also called a Polysomnogram which is usually performed to find the specific causes of your sleep problems. These tests are essential to diagnose whether you have a snoring problem or a sleep apnea problem. The sleep apnea study is usually prescribed by a doctor. The sleep tests are conducted at either a patients home, a hospital or a sleep center. Here’s a video to help you understand the setting and the whole process that’s involved..

The basic process is that a sleep tech places electrodes on the chin, outer edges of the eyes and the scalp. The room is kept dark while you sleep. Graphs are taken and information is gathered about your breathing pattern, movement and REM sleep.

A doctor will study the graphs and determine if you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea. If you do you’ll need a “titration study.” This study can either be scheduled at another time or take place on the same night as your first sleep study. They will fit you with a CPAP mask and a tech will slowly increase the CPAP’S air pressure until it’s the highest level that you’ll need during the night.

Potential Treatments After Your Sleep Apnea Study

• CPAP Machine – Keeps your airways open while you sleep.
• Mouthpieces – Keep your airway open while you sleep.
• Surgery – There are several types but they may involve removing extra throat tissue.
• Medicines to help you stay awake during the day.
• Lifestyle changes – Sleeping on your side, going to bed at the same time every night, not smoking and losing weight if needed.

After the sleep apnea study, your doctor probably will have you try lifestyle changes and CPAP first. Here’s another resource that can help you decide if you need a sleep study done or not.

There’s many home sleep tests out on the market. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) revised a long-standing policy. In 2007 it endorsed the use of portable monitoring for a specific group of people. There is a problems with this option though.

The main problem with an At Home Sleep Testing System is that if you have a regular sleep test done at a sleep center, it’s far more complex and records all your vital signs.

About half of all insurance plans including Medicaid and Medicare also cover home tests if you are eligible. Although 50% of all major insurance plans still consider home tests too experimental and don’t cover them.  Home testing run from about $150 to $650.

Even if you don’t want to go to a sleep lab, it’s still important to have a full exam with a certified sleep specialist to determine whether you can skip the overnight lab study.

Eligibility requirements for an At Home Sleep Tests

• You must be between 18 to 65 years old. Home sleep tests are not recommended for children or older adults.
• You must have no other sleep disorders. Other sleep disorders also can affect the results of a home sleep test.
• You have a high risk of moderate-to-severe sleep apnea. Your risk for sleep apnea can only be determined by a complete sleep evaluation. Key risk factors include loud and frequent snoring, daytime sleepiness, obesity, and witnessed pauses in breathing during sleep.
• You have no other major medical problems. Other medical problems can affect the results of a home sleep test, including lung disease, neuromuscular disease, and congestive heart failure.

You can find out more about at home sleep testing by going through this link to www.health.com. From there you can decide if either a home sleep test or a traditional sleep center is right for you in order to diagnose your snoring problem properly.