Rule out sleep apnea first

You may be wondering why we emphasize sleep apnea testing when we have the word "Snore" in our name.  We do it because we think it's the right thing to do. Suppose you went to your doctor and said, "My indigestion is so bad it keeps me up at night.  Can you prescribe some antacids to help me out?" What would you want your doctor to do? Prescribe the antacids Rule out serious illnesses which cause indigestion (like stomach cancer) before settling on the antacids. We believe the responsible thing for your doctor to do is to make sure you don't have a serious underlying disease before dismissing your indigestion as trivial. That's our appoach to sleep apnea.  Since about one third of people who snore regularly (more for people who are overweight or report daytime sleepiness) have sleep apnea, we first rule out sleep apnea before treating "just snoring". The other great thing about finding out about apnea is that treating apnea will absolutely reduce or eliminate the snoring. So until you have been tested and you know you don't have sleep apnea, finding out needs to be top priority.

'I've been tested - no sleep apnea!'

If you have had a sleep test or a polysomnogram (PSG) and you do not have sleep apnea, these are the things you can do to reduce or eliminate snoring: If you are overweight, lose weight - it always helps reduce snoring. Change your positions. Most people snore most lying flat on their backs. Some are better off with their heads elevated; others on their sides. Get an oral appliance to wear at night. They look like a sports mouth guard and they gently nudge your lower jaw forward while you sleep which is enough to reduce snoring for many people. Surgery. Generally regarded as a last result, surgery is successful in eliminating snoring less than half the time. The recovery is long and painful and even in the cases where it works, snoring may come back.