Snoring assessment
Diagnosis and screening for snoring and sleep apnoea
Snoring affects 20% of the population and is more common in men than women in a ratio of 2 to 1. Apart from the marital problems it can cause, snoring can be complicated by apnoea, i.e. breathing stops, which causes a slowing of heartbeat and a decrease of the oxygen level in the blood. The obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) syndrome can cause excessive daytime sleepiness, fatigue, headaches, and serious health problems such as hypertension and cardiovascular diseases such as a heart attack.
The causes of snoring and apnoea are diverse and vary from patient to patient. They can be nasal (deviation of the nasal septum, sinonasal polyposis), pharyngeal (long palate, long and massive uvula, amygdala hypertrophy), lingual (hypertrophy of the tongue) or retraction of the lower dental arch (retrognathia).
To diagnose the causes of snoring and sleep apnoea and to establish an effective and personalised treatment plan, it is essential to contact an experienced ENT physician who will carry out a preliminary questionnaire (Hepworth test) to measure the somnolence degree, then a complete examination of the upper aerodigestive tract, to determine the origin of the problem, and finally schedule a sleep recording.
At the end of this assessment, your ENT physician will be able to propose to you either surgery of the nasal septum (septoplasty), a pharyngeal surgery (tonsillectomy), the treatment of the soft palate and the uvula under local anaesthesia with surgery by radiofrequencies, the advancement of the mandible at night using bite splints (mandibular advancement orthosis), or positive pressure ventilation at night.
Dr. Stéphane Hervé is an ENT specialist and a head and neck surgeon, who graduated from some of the best universities in France. He combines solid experience and training of more than 20 years, acquired in renowned hospitals and clinics equipped with advanced technology for the diagnosis and treatment of snoring and sleep apnoea.
