Types of Snoring, Cause and Diagnosis

If you snore at night, it is an indication that you are not sleeping well. This happens as your body cannot move air freely through the nose and throat because of a partial closing of your upper airway, thus resulting in snoring. Depending on the causes of airway collapse, there are four different types of snoring.

And to effectively combat them, it is crucial to understand what makes you snore. So here’s a look at the types of snoring, their causes, symptoms and treatments. Have a look!

The Different Types of Snoring:

1. Nose Snoring / Nasal Snoring

Blockage in the nostrils due to a deviated septum or some physical obstruction may lead to Nose Snoring / Nasal Snoring . Other causes for snoring through nose include pet and dust allergies, nose stiffness, cold or using certain types of medication.

Deviated Septum- Main cause of Nose Snoring

Nose Snoring can be treated in several ways depending on what causes it:

• Treating a deviated septum requires one to undergo surgery
• If a dust allergy causes nasal snoring, keeping your home neat and tidy will cure it.
• Similarly, quitting smoking or using nasal dilator strips or a nasal rinse is effective against snoring through nose caused by cold or stiffness.

2. Mouth Snoring

• Open Mouth snoring: Snoring with mouth open is the process of inhaling air through the mouth instead of the nose while sleeping. If you can’t breathe via your nose at night due to blockage, it causes you to breathe through the mouth, resulting in a vibration of the tissues and hence snoring with mouth open. 

• Snoring with Mouth Closed: Blocked nasal passages, enlarged tonsils, or weak palatal tissue may also cause close-mouthed snoring. Essentially, a nasal snorer has a slight chance of snoring with the mouth closed if his nasal passages get severely blocked. Breathing via the mouth can lead to infections as the nose is not filtering the air that’s passing through. 

Closed Mouth Snoring Solutions: In order to avoid snore with mouth closed, one can use devices such as adhesive tape specially designed for this purpose or mouth guards that can help you keep your mouth closed.

3. Tongue Snoring

This tongue snoring occurs because the tongue gets too relaxed, mainly when we lie down on our back, thus blocking the airflow into the lungs. Because of this, it becomes difficult to breathe. Tongue snoring may occur in people who drink alcohol or use sleep medication. Excessive fat around the neck may also be a cause of tongue based snoring.

Tongue Snoring Treatment: 

1. Anti-snoring pillows and backpacks are helpful way to prevent Tongue snoring. They keep you on your side, preventing you from turning on your back, and avoiding difficulty in breathing.

2. Snoring mouthpieces or mandibular advancement devices (MADs) are specially designed to be used as a remedy for tongue snorers. It helps move your jaw forward, thus preventing the tongue from blocking the back of your throat and ensuring uninterrupted breathing.

4. Throat Snoring

Lastly, we have throat snoring, which is the loudest and most dangerous. It is caused as a result of sleep apnea, a condition where the person stops breathing several times during the night in his sleep. And this condition occurs when the muscles and soft tissues in the throat area get too relaxed. When you stop breathing, you may feel choked or begin to cough in an attempt to open up your airway. This may even cause you to wake up from your sleep.

Throat snoring occurs in every sleeping position and can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke if left untreated. Sleep apnea needs medical attention immediately, and the most common throat snoring solutions are CPAP therapy, UPAP therapy and UAS therapy.

How to Diagnose Your Snoring

Below are the symptoms  and Snoring solutions based on type of Snoring:

1. Mouth Snoring

• You only snore with an Open mouth also known as Open Mouth Snoring
• To prevent open mouth snoring, have a tendency to sleep on your back, or on side.
• snoring with mouth closed happens due to blocked nasal passages, enlarged tonsils, or weak palatal tissue

2. Nose Snoring / Nasal Snoring

• Your nasal breathing is impaired even while awake
• Your nose snoring is like a loud whistle or grunt sound
• Snoring through nose results in dry mouth, bad breath and headaches

3. Tongue Snoring

• Tongue snoring happens while sleeping on your back
• May have a very large tongue
• Tongue based snoring is characterized by inconsistent high pitched sounds

4. Throat Snoring

• Throat based snoring happens in every sleeping position
• Daytime symptoms: morning headaches, daytime sleepiness, lack of concentration at work
• Nighttime symptoms: loud snoring, difficulties in breathing during sleep, waking up with dry mouth, frequent visits to the bathroom

Looking at the symptoms above will give you an idea about the type of snorer you are. While the other three types are not serious and can be cured easily, it is throat snoring solutions that you really need to think about.

Take the home sleep test to identify your risk levels of sleep apnea, and get the help of a sleep coach to help treat it.