Snoring (rhonchopathy) (synonyms: Mouth breathing; rhonchopathy (snoring); snoring; snoring; ICD-10 R06.5: Mouth breathing) refers to sounds (sometimes up to 90 dB loud) caused by the pharyngeal muscles in the sleeping person becoming slack and the uvula and soft palate fluttering in the breathing air.
Snoring is counted among the parasomnias. These are activations of various body systems that occur during sleep. These phenomena also include sleepwalking (somnambulism), teeth grinding (bruxism), and talking during sleep (somniloquy).
In many sufferers, snoring occurs in relation to the position of the body. Preference is given to snoring in the supine position.
In children who snore, the cause should always be clarified in order to be able to remedy serious disorders in good time.
Primary snoring (synonyms: habitual snoring, snoring without breathing pauses, benign snoring) is when breathing rhythm and sleep quality are undisturbed. This occurs predominantly in men and in middle age.
If the affected person snores loudly and, above all, irregularly, it should be examined whether a so-called sleep apnea syndrome is present. This is a condition in which breathing stops during sleep due to obstruction of the airways and often occurs several hundred times a night. By definition, the pauses in breathing must last at least 10 seconds for sleep apnea syndrome to be suspected. Sleep apnea syndrome affects approximately 4% of the male population (primarily middle-aged) and 2% of adult women (mostly post-menopausal/menopausal women). It can be divided into the following two subgroups:
- Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome – characterized by obstruction (narrowing) or complete closure of the upper airway during sleep; most common form of sleep apnea.
- Central sleep apnea syndrome – characterized by repeated cessations of breathing due to lack of activation of respiratory muscles.
- In addition, there are still various mixed forms of the two groups
Snoring may precede obstructive sleep apnea syndrome by many years.
Gender ratio: men are more often affected than women.
Frequency peak: snoring occurs with increasing age clustered.Primary snoring occurs predominantly in middle-aged men.
The prevalence (disease frequency) is 60% of men and 40% of women (in Germany). In the age group of men over 50 years even 60-80 % are affected. In children, the prevalence is 10%.
Course and prognosis: In most cases, snoring does not need to be treated because there is no danger to health. In these cases, it is so-called primary snoring, which means that breathing rhythm and sleep quality remain undisturbed. However, if sleep apnea syndrome is present, those affected suffer a lack of oxygen due to the breathing pauses, which makes them sleep poorly. Thus, they are tired during the day. Furthermore, sleep apnea syndrome can result in various secondary diseases (e.g. hypertension (high blood pressure), coronary heart disease (CHD)). It should therefore be treated in any case. It is not uncommon for snoring to cause spouses to sleep in separate bedrooms due to the “noise pollution”. In such cases, it is also important for the partnership that something is done about snoring.
