Nasal Snoring More Difficult To Correct Than Other Types

To the outside observer, a snore is a snore, and it sounds more or less the same – annoying – regardless of who it’s coming from, or why.

But snoring happens for lots of different reasons, and some types of snoring are harder to treat than others. While “snoring from the mouth” is very common and thankfully often reversible, nasal snoring is often more problematic and difficult to treat.

Mouth versus Nasal Snoring

Snoring happens when the airways of the upper respiratory system become constricted, for one reason or another.

People who snore from the mouth also breathe primarily from the mouth during sleep. This is often due to “lazy jaw”, or a lower jaw that hangs open during sleep – especially when lying on the back – because other surrounding muscles are similarly weak.

When the mouth hangs open, it affects the throat and windpipe by putting pressure on these areas, thus constricting the flow of air to the lungs – and thus, snoring happens.

This worsens and becomes habit over time, as the muscles normally used to keep the mouth shut during sleep become even weaker with disuse.

Nasal snoring, on the other hand, is a trickier situation. Because it is healthier and more natural for the body to sleep through the nose as opposed to mouth, and especially during sleep, it is not a case of improper breathing or bad habits.

If a person tends to breathe through the nose during sleep, is neither overweight nor suffers from allergy or infection (all of which can influence snoring), chances are, s/he has some anatomical issue within the nose – potentially a deviated septum or a narrow nasal passageway.

Treatments for Mouth and Nasal Snoring

One of the best ways to reverse a mouth-breathing habit is to wear a chin strap for snoring during sleep – it prevents the mouth from falling open, thus preventing snoring. It also trains the body to breathe through the nose naturally.

Nasal snoring that does not respond to muscle-strengthening exercises or weight loss, or even experimentation with sleeping positions, may necessitate corrective surgery if the habit becomes annoying enough for the snorer and/or loved one to seek treatment.