A Large Tongue Can Cause Snoring / Sleep Apnea!
- Posted on: Feb 10 2020
What Causes Snoring and Sleep Apnea
The most common cause for snoring and sleep apnea is a nasal or sinus condition that reduces the nasal airflow. What’s really interesting is that the second most common cause is an enlargement of the tongue.
When patients hear that tongue enlargement is the second most common cause of snoring and sleep apnea the first thing they ask is what in the world would make my tongue get bigger? It is actually mouth breathing! When patients have chronic nasal and sinus congestion (the number one cause for snoring and sleep apnea), they mouth breathe while sleeping and during exercise. The tongue becomes dehydrated secondary to this chronic mouth breathing. The tongue responds to this repeated dehydration over time by slowly expanding. This causes progressive worsening of the snoring and sleep apnea and is irreversible.
At Sinus & Snoring Specialists, we work to accurately diagnose and successfully treat the underlying nasal and sinus issue. This helps reduce the snoring and sleep apnea issue. This may be allergy drop therapy, medical treatment of sinus infection, or modern balloon sinuplasty procedures to open the nasal and sinus airway. If there is still residual snoring or sleep apnea, despite this nasal and sinus correction, it is usually secondary to the tongue enlargement. This can usually be effectively and comfortably treated with a custom-fitted oral appliance made by a sleep dentist.
If you have heard that your snoring or sleep apnea is worsening, it may be that your tongue is getting larger.
Schedule A Consultation
Call us today to schedule a consultation to arrest this progressive tongue enlargement by diagnosing and treating the underlying nasal and sinus condition. 512-601-0303
Tagged with: Large Tongue Causes Snoring
Posted in: Sleep Apnea, Snoring, Uncategorized
