Effective snoring solution?

Effective snoring solution?

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Discussion

EB89

Original Poster:

803 posts

198 months

Thursday 18th August 2022
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Very loud snorer here, not overweight, don't drink much or smoke so think it's something a bit more on the genetic side rather than lifestyle...

It really impacts my partner, which probably pains me the most as things like going away and sharing a hotel room is something she dreads!

Wondered what people have tried that works?
Have tried sprays, inhaling essential oils, various sleeping positions, nose plaster, tennis balls sewn into back of t-shirt etc.

Wondering if I need to start the next level such as custom mouth guard or even surgery.

Wondered what people out there have tried and found to work?

As my partner is a very sensitive sleeper I'm seeking to eradicate rather than reduce volume or occurrence. Particularly as my current snoring levels are exceptionally loud...In many ways my partner wouldn't particularly be better off if I snorer less or quieter - Just need to eradicate entirely if possible.

Edited by EB89 on Thursday 18th August 22:54

Carlososos

976 posts

103 months

Thursday 18th August 2022
quotequote all
EB89 said:
Very loud snorer here, not overweight, don't drink much or smoke so think it's something a bit more on the genetic side rather than lifestyle...

It really impacts my partner, which probably pains me the most as things like going away and sharing a hotel room is something she dreads!

Wondered what people have tried that works?
Have tried sprays, inhaling essential oils, various sleeping positions, nose plaster, tennis balls sewn into back of t-shirt etc.

Wondering if I need to start the next level such as custom mouth guard or even surgery.

Wondered what people out there have tried and found to work?
Go see a private ENT doctor to check if there is anything obvious causing it like polyps etc. if so get them to refer you back to nhs ent through your gp to get it sorted or pay private for the whole thing.

If it’s simply snoring and an annoyance you either won’t get a referral or it’ll take forever.

Wacky Racer

39,001 posts

254 months

Thursday 18th August 2022
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Google Sleep apnea, my wife, one of my sons and her brother suffers from it, it's a lot more common than you think.

Not saying you have it, but it's a possibility.

Heavy snoring is one of the symptoms.

CoolHands

19,471 posts

202 months

Thursday 18th August 2022
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I think all the rich celeb yanks use those positive airway pressure things don’t they? You can get portable ones for going away etc. CPAP

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=scfZSpq5CY8

andyA700

3,342 posts

44 months

Friday 19th August 2022
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This myth propagated by the media, seems to suggest that only overweight people get sleep apnoea, whereas, when I was very fit and weighed 70kg in 1995 I obviously had it, but it was ignored by my GP. I got diagnosed in 2001, by which time my weight had increased to 110kg and I could barely function on a day to day basis.
OP, get to your GP and insist that they get you checked out.

Pflanzgarten

4,922 posts

32 months

Friday 19th August 2022
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Mouth guard off Amazon, £15 problem solved.

Couldn’t believe how simply it worked and has 100% cured mine.

EB89

Original Poster:

803 posts

198 months

Friday 19th August 2022
quotequote all
Pflanzgarten said:
Mouth guard off Amazon, £15 problem solved.

Couldn’t believe how simply it worked and has 100% cured mine.
I'm up for a quick, cheap fix too! Which one?

Pflanzgarten

4,922 posts

32 months

Friday 19th August 2022
quotequote all
EB89 said:
Pflanzgarten said:
Mouth guard off Amazon, £15 problem solved.

Couldn’t believe how simply it worked and has 100% cured mine.
I'm up for a quick, cheap fix too! Which one?
Any of them, I’ve tried a few and they all do the same thing.

The caveat is however…

A mouth guard will only work with a certain type of snoring. The trick is, can you replicate that snoring while awake? I know this sounds daft but bare with me…

I’d you can replicate your snoring sound while awake, try to still do it with your tongue stuck out as far as you can reach and held in between your teeth.

If this makes it awkward to replicate the snoring sound a mouth guard will work for you. It’s that simple.


ben5575

6,646 posts

228 months

Friday 19th August 2022
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I’ve posted lots of times on here about sleep apnea so shan’t again. As others have said it’s not only a weight thing.

This is the one I use having tried every solution and variation to avoid cpap.

Solved my issue

Snore Eliminator PRO Adjustable Anti Snoring Device https://amzn.eu/d/gdxEPv4

ETA as above, splints work by stopping your lower jaw from falling backwards when you sleep and relax. In addition to the above test, stick your lower jaw forward and try and snort. The amount (if any) your snort reduces from doing it without pushing your jaw out will give you an idea of how likely a splint is going to work for you.

They may be uncomfortable for a week or so as you adapt to them but it’s nothing compared to what your wife is going through.

Note if you do get tested and are positive for sleep apnea you will lose your driving license unless you can prove that you can treat it.


Edited by ben5575 on Friday 19th August 08:13

Pflanzgarten

4,922 posts

32 months

Friday 19th August 2022
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As Ben says, that’s what cured mine. Dad snores like a runaway freight train and then I started a couple of years ago.

Tends to be worse if I’m either exhausted from work, got a cold or had a few beers sometimes but I reckon it’s hereditary somehow.

Now I can have the guard by the bedside and reach for it if the wife gives me the dig in the ribs! Weird thing is I can have a night out with the lads and come back and not make a peep.

It definitely works however.

Nico Adie

619 posts

50 months

Friday 19th August 2022
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Mouth guard thing works for me too. I've got one that looks like this, it does the job (excuse the link length):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-2022-Devices-Mouthgua...

I forgot to take it to France with me so I had to find another, which actually turned out to be even more effective (according to my wife)

https://www.quies.fr/produit/gouttierebuccaleantir...




sparkyhx

4,193 posts

211 months

Monday 22nd August 2022
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Ive found the boil in the bag mouthguards are fairly effective.
I found an article inthe Guardian about a snoring sufferer and there are some wacky and effective alternatives - but may not be suitablefor all.
he'd tried several with varying degrees of success, so you may find the same, dont discount the concept - try another

https://www.snorban.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0oyYBhDGA... (worked best for article writer) but couldnt understand why it was better than all the others he'd tried.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tomed-Somnoguard-Mandibul...

silly expensive
https://uk.exciteosa.com/uk-sleep-apnea/?campaigni...


quinny100

960 posts

193 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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ben5575 said:
Note if you do get tested and are positive for sleep apnea you will lose your driving license unless you can prove that you can treat it.
That is absolutely not correct. I’d ask you to delete that statement because it’s incredibly unhelpful and will only serve to put people off seeking treatment.

It is a myth and is the main reason I put off going to the Doctors about my loud snoring for several years because I need to drive for work. I finally went in March and my BP was 225/120 - the Doctor considered sending me to A&E because it was so high, so I agreed to go on medication immediately.

I had a sleep study at home in June which revealed I have severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea - 56 AHI events per hour on the study, anything 5 or below is normal, above 35 is severe. I started with a CPAP machine 3 weeks ago and after the first night I felt about 10 years younger. 3 weeks on I feel like I’m 25 again, my mental sharpness has returned, my mood is better, I’ve got more energy and my BP is coming down, my AHI has been less than 2 for the last 10 nights. Had I not got this sorted I strongly suspect I’d have had a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years. Some people don’t take to CPAP, but I’ve largely been fine with it - certainly the benefits massively outweigh the negatives.

I’ve actually quiet enjoyed the process of tweaking things and analysing the telemetry from the CPAP machine to see how it’s affected my breathing and sleep. There are some excellent resources online - there’s a YouTube channel called CPAP reviews run by an Australian Sleep Technician who has developed an analytics tool called SleepHQ which is brilliant - you can see every single breath you take through the CPAP machine.

The diagnostic process for sleep apnea is actually very simple and I’d urge anyone with symptoms to get a sleep study - all it involves is picking up a box of kit and wearing it overnight in bed at home, then dropping it off the following day.

With regards to sleep apnea and driving, the DVLA guidance is now absolutely clear, which hasn’t always been the case: you are only required to inform the DVLA if you are suffering with excessive sleepiness: https://www.gov.uk/excessive-sleepiness-and-drivin...

I was asked by GP and the sleep clinic to complete an Epworth Sleepiness Scale test which is just a few situations you rank 1-3 to give a sleepiness score. You can find it here: https://nasemso.org/wp-content/uploads/neuro-epwor... A score of below 10 and you are not required to inform the DVLA at all. Above 15 they would advise you stop driving.

Despite my sleep apnea being severe, I’ve never been excessively sleepy and certainly never felt there was any risk of me falling asleep whilst driving. If you do then absolutely you shouldn’t drive and inform the DVLA, but it is absolutely incorrect that seeking help for the condition means you will have to stop driving.

My snoring was horrendous - my OH complains she can hear me snoring when she’s in the other bedroom 10M across the landing with 2 doors in between. I’d score over 80 on the Snorelab app every night, mostly loud and epic. Since I started CPAP I don’t snore at all.


Edited by quinny100 on Tuesday 23 August 08:03

ben5575

6,646 posts

228 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
quotequote all
Sorry but no, i'm not going to delete my post.

If you are diagnosed with OSA it is on your medical record.

It is your responsibility to inform the dvla (and advise your insurers).

If you have an accident and haven't informed the dvla then you are in trouble/insurance invalid.

However

If you can prove that you can manage the condition then you are 'dvla aware no further action'

In my instance I was retested with a splint which showed below 5. I sent both the original and the subsequent results in the same letter to the dvla and they were fine about it.

If you are retested with a cpap/other treatment and pass, then the DVLA will be fine

If you take the sleepiness test and pass, then you will be fine. But you need to proactively take the sleepiness test to prove it. Simply stating 'nah, I wasn't tired' is not going to cut it after an accident.

OSA is a potentially life limiting condition. It has severe health consequences. Treating it as you quite rightly say, has massive benefits and a huge impact on the quality of your life.

Having an OSA diagnosis doesn't not mean you can't drive, but it does mean that you have to treat it and prove that the treatment works.

quinny100

960 posts

193 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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There is no requirement to inform the DVLA of a diagnosis or suspicion of OSA. The requirement to inform the DVLA is if you are suffering from excessive sleepiness.

The link I posted above, on the gov.uk website, clearly states this. If you use the A-Z of medical conditions, OSA links to the same page.

I can only hope anyone suffering from suspected OSA is sensible enough to believe the Government advice and not the load of unreferenced supposition you've posted.

Portofino

4,506 posts

198 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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I’m with quinny. I had it really bad prior to CPAP. Never had to inform anyone.

TameRacingDriver

18,571 posts

279 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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I just bought one of these mouth guard things to try and it's just come in the post. Already I know it's a waste of money, as there's no way on god's earth I'm going to be able to sleep with that in my mouth. At least it was only a tenner.

My snoring is bad, and seems to originate from my nose, I have extremely small nostrils and airwaves and I'm also overweight which won't help.

sparkyhx

4,193 posts

211 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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TameRacingDriver said:
I just bought one of these mouth guard things to try and it's just come in the post. Already I know it's a waste of money, as there's no way on god's earth I'm going to be able to sleep with that in my mouth. At least it was only a tenner.

My snoring is bad, and seems to originate from my nose, I have extremely small nostrils and airwaves and I'm also overweight which won't help.
stick with it, you do get used to it. I've previously modified mine to make it smaller (not as far back in my mouth) , which made it more comfortable. you never know it might be the best tenner you ever spent.

ben5575

6,646 posts

228 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
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Yep stick with it or try a different one.

Definitely get a mouldable one. Preferably one that adjusts the amount it projects your lower jaw like the one I linked above wink

And try that jut out your lower jaw and try to snort test. You’ll know straight away whether they’ll work for you.

You can also get these which might help you? https://amzn.eu/d/4BTaB0X


Edited by ben5575 on Tuesday 23 August 17:26

TameRacingDriver

18,571 posts

279 months

Tuesday 23rd August 2022
quotequote all
ben5575 said:
And try that jut out your lower jaw and try to snort test. You’ll know straight away whether they’ll work for you.
I've just tried this and I can definitely still snore easily with my jaw jutted out, I guess this potentially means the guard won't work for me?

I'll have a look at the other link when I get home.