Snoring and suspected sleep apneas are the most frequent causes for referral for a sleep study, however you can definitely snore and also not have sleep apnea. Snoring is the most common symptom of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) occurring in 70% to 95% of patients with OSA {1}. Snoring is a harsh respiratory sound caused by passage of air through a narrowed airway resulting in tissue vibration. It is commonly thought that the louder and more frequent the snoring, the worse the OSA.
If you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), your bed partner might notice that the snoring is associated with pauses in breathing which can be detrimental to your health. When an individual with OSA stops breathing, the muscles that support the soft tissues in your throat; such as the tongue and soft palate temporarily relax causing the airway to narrow or close, causing breathing to be momentarily cut off.
For some people snoring varies across the duration of a night’s sleep and can occur depending on the body position of the individual. The quality of the snoring sound is determined by many factors such as the predominant sites of upper airway narrowing, sleep stage, body position, and presence and absence of sleep-disordered breathing. Also when OSA is present, snoring differs depending on whether it occurs between apneas or during hypopneas. In addition, both the quantity and quality of snoring can vary from night to night.
References:
{1} Alakuijala A, Salmi T. Predicting obstructive sleep apnea with periodic snoring sound recorded at home. J Clin Sleep Med 2016;12(7):953–958.
{2} Maimon N; Hanly PJ. Does snoring intensity correlate with the severity of obstructive sleep apnea? J Clin Sleep Med 2010;6(5):475-478.
