We’ve talked before about how there are many potential sources of snoring, such as your nose, your mouth, or your throat. Figuring out which is the source of your snoring is critical to ensuring you get relief from your snoring.
But how can you identify the source of your snoring? Here’re a few tips to try to find out if your nose is the source of your snoring.
Do You Have a Family History of Deviated Septum?
Nasal snoring is often linked to a deviated septum. Your septum is the cartilage-and-bone structure in your nose that separates your nostrils. Ideally, it should be balanced down the middle so that both nostrils are well developed. However, if you have a deviated septum, the structure isn’t balanced, and this can cause one nostril to be larger than the other or have both nostrils narrow at different points. Narrow or uneven nostrils can obstruct your breathing.
Deviated septum is a developmental condition, something that happens as a result of genetic or environmental conditions. It often runs in families, so if your parents or grandparents were diagnosed with a deviated septum, it’s likely that you have it, too.
Did You Break Your Nose?
Your septum might have started out in a healthy position, but this might have changed if you broke your nose in the past. The broken nose may heal in a way that is either uneven or constricted. The tight airflow space can cause nasal snoring.
Most of the time, breathing problems related to a broken nose come from accidental breaks, but sometimes intentional breaks (as in a rhinoplasty) can be the cause.Surgeons should reconstruct your airways so they maintain the spacing, but not all plastic surgeons are careful about this, and sometimes the nose doesn’t heal as it should. In any case, a prior broken nose could mean that your snoring comes from your nose.
Do You Have Chronic Allergies or Illness?
Our nose is highly vulnerable to getting clogged fully or partially with mucus or swollen tissue. If you have allergies or tend to come down with colds or infection, it’s likely that your nose clogs up first, causing constriction of the nasal airway. However, this could also lead to snoring in other parts of the airway, such as the throat, which could be impacted by a postnasal drip.
But if you have these types of allergies or illness, it’s a good idea to try to treat them to combat nasal snoring.
The Snoring Has a Whistling or High-Pitched Sound
When your airway is vibrating, it’s like a wind instrument, and it has some of the same properties. One of these properties is that the sound it makes is related to the size of the vibrating tissue. Think about how a tiny piccolo sounds versus how a bassoon sounds.
Nasal snoring is likely to be more like a piccolo than a bassoon. If you snoring is rumbly and penetrating, it’s more likely related to your throat.
Don’t Waste Time and Money on Nasal Solutions
If these hints make you think that your snoring might be related to your nose, you should consider possible nasal snoring solutions. This might be nasal strips, sprays, or–in the case of a deviated septum or broken nose–surgery.
However, if you suspect that your nose isn’t actually the problem, you shouldn’t waste money on snoring solutions that focus on your nose. Instead, you should consider snoring solutions focused on the true source of your snoring, your mouth and throat.
If you are looking for an effective snoring solution in Denver, please call (303) 691-0267 today for an appointment with a sleep dentist at the TMJ Therapy & Sleep Center of Colorado.
