Do you have trouble sleeping? Do you snore? Well, you’re not alone. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a disorder in which normal breathing is interrupted during sleep due to the blockage of airflow in the upper airway breathing passages, affects approximately 18 million adults in the United States. Luckily, Dr. Monica Tadros is here to help!
“There are a number of things that can contribute to obstructive sleep apnea, that’s what makes it a little bit complicated,” explains Dr. Tadros. “When we talk about snoring, it’s a noise, and that noise comes from vibration, and vibration comes from anything along the pathway of how we breathe. If we’re not breathing properly through the throat, then we’re going to get a lot of resonance. If the nose is blocked, we might actually open our mouth during sleep. Opening our mouth and breathing exclusively through our mouth, there’s going to be more resonance or vibration through the back of the throat
— it’s going to sound a lot louder.”
“If there’s a lot of noise during sleep, that draws our attention to the fact that they’re might be a problem. You may just be snoring, but more likely there may be some component of sleep apnea developing. So there may be a number of conditions associated with snoring and sleep apnea, there are also a number of surgical and non-surgical options able to treat these conditions.”
Many factors contribute to obstructive sleep apnea NJ and a thorough evaluation by Dr. Tadros requires a sleep apnea study and comprehensive airway examination that highlights: nasal obstruction (deviated nasal septum/turbinate overgrowth) tonsil enlargement soft palate laxity and uvula enlargement oropharyngeal tissue hypertrophy (overgrowth) tongue enlargement (macroglossia) and hyoid bone position epiglottis position. Primary treatment in NYC & NJ includes a trial of CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) appliance during sleep and goal directed weight loss. Adjunct sleep apnea related procedures may include an oral dental appliance or nasal surgery to decrease airway pressures and improve CPAP comfort and compliance. Some sleep apnea NJ patients cannot tolerate or comply with CPAP and should be evaluated by an ENT sleep apnea surgery specialist. Depending on the severity of sleep apnea, and the associated pathology a number of procedures may open the airway, improve snoring and diminish apneic events. A variety of sleep apnea procedures can be used to tailor a sleep apnea treatment regimen.
Monica Tadros, MD FACS, Dual Board Certified in ENT & Facial Plastics briefly discusses Sleep Apnea. Watch this video to learn more about obstructive sleep apnea and the available treatments.
Request your sleep apnea treatment consultation in NYC & NJ today with Dr. Monica Tadros by calling NYC: (201) 408-5430 or NJ: (201) 408-5430!