Snoring can be a nuisance… especially to your bed partner. But what can it do aside from disrupt their sleep? Ever wondered what else snoring can do? Don’t worry, I was curious too. Now let me tell you the answers.
So, can snoring affect your ears? Yes, loud and constant snoring can potentially affect someone’s ears. The snorer themselves, however, may not be affected but bed partners are usually the ones affected.
Studies revealed that people who sleep with snorers tend to have decreased hearing abilities and some are even partially deaf in the ear that usually faces the sound of snoring.
Snoring can actually be loud to the point that it may reach around 80 decibel (the unit used to measure sound).
There are even reported cases of snoring sounds that reach the level of above 100 decibels (dB) and it’s the one that often causes difficulty in sleeping for bed partners and even those in nearby rooms.
The snoring can be so loud, the sound may leave the bedroom and disturb other places.
A human ear, if exposed to loud snoring at high decibel (around 70 – 80 dB above) continuously, can be damaged over time.
For some cases, the internal vibration in the inner ear caused by snoring also makes the snorer prone to hearing loss. Therefore, both the snorer and their bed partners are at risk.
Snoring happens when a person is experiencing difficulty in breathing. So, the harder it is for them to breathe, the higher chance they may snore louder.
Some people snore, but not too loud to the point that it can affect hearing. However, more people tend to snore louder and it gets worse as they age.
Snoring, if left untreated, can get worse and it can be a sign of another health issue that must be diagnosed in order to prevent more casualties.
Not only will the snorer’s health suffer due to the reason why they are snoring, their bed partners will also suffer from the sound every night.
How to stop snoring from affecting your ears
Being partially deaf or simply being at risk of losing your hearing is already alarming so if you are snoring or your bed partner is snoring, you should help stop it.
There are different ways that can stop someone from snoring. It can depend on what causes the snoring too.
I’ve listed a couple of methods that may involve surgical operations, using medical equipment and simple lifestyle changes that can stop someone from snoring and also stop sleep apnea.
- 24 Ways How to Stop Snoring:
- Nasal Strips
- Nasal strips are one of the earliest tools used to treat conditions like sleep apnea and its symptoms such as snoring.
Nowadays, there are newly developed nasal strips that you can try.
- Nasal strips are one of the earliest tools used to treat conditions like sleep apnea and its symptoms such as snoring.
- Oral Appliance
- Oral pieces can help with sleep apnea and snoring, they are custom made to make sure it prevents the obstruction in the airways and counter sleep apnea and snoring.
- CPAP Treatment
- The CPAP or “Continuous Positive Airway Pressure” is a commonly used treatment and proven to be effective for sleep apnea patients and stopping snoring.
- Avoid sedatives before going to sleep
- Certain sedatives can cause sleep apnea. Consult a medical expert to determine what type of sedative may be the cause.
- Treat chronic allergies
- Some allergies can trigger obstruction in your body’s airways and may cause you to have sleep apnea and cause you to snore.
- Try to avoid overworking yourself.
- Sometimes, simply going to sleep while totally exhausted can make our muscles relax too much to the point that it can lead to sleep apnea and snoring.
- Avoid drinking liquor before bed.
- Excessive liquor can also relax the muscles that will lead to sleep apnea and snoring. Limit alcohol consumption or avoid drinking too much before going to sleep.
- Sleep with your head elevated.
- When the head is not properly elevated, the tongue can fall back and block the air passage, causing the tissues to vibrate and snore.
You can also use an anti-snore pillow which will keep your head in proper place that can help stop sleep apnea. Sleeping in a chair or a recliner chair is also an option.
- When the head is not properly elevated, the tongue can fall back and block the air passage, causing the tissues to vibrate and snore.
- Try to sleep on your sides.
- Sleeping flat on our backs can cause the tongue to fall back and block the airways. It can also make the muscles relax and cause sleep apnea.
You can read about: “How to prevent sleeping on my back” to learn how you can keep sleeping on your sides.
- Sleeping flat on our backs can cause the tongue to fall back and block the airways. It can also make the muscles relax and cause sleep apnea.
- Get plenty of exercises.
- Lack of physical activity can cause our body’s functionality to drop.
This means that we need the right amount of exercise to keep our body “awake” and functioning even as we sleep.
- Lack of physical activity can cause our body’s functionality to drop.
- Stop or limit smoking.
- If your body inhales the smoke, it can cause the muscles inside to swell or become irritated, potentially blocking the airways and causing you to snore.
Those who are also exposed to secondhand smoke can be prone to sleep apnea, so avoid getting near smoke as much as possible.
- If your body inhales the smoke, it can cause the muscles inside to swell or become irritated, potentially blocking the airways and causing you to snore.
- Drink enough water.
- When we are dehydrated, the throat becomes dry which makes the vibrating tissues sound louder and produces snoring or sleep apnea.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Our diet plays a huge part in our health! You should also avoid eating heavy before sleeping, if you go to sleep on a full stomach, your muscles may not work as it should.
- Sleep on time.
- Not getting the right amount of sleep and not sleeping early can cause the body to become dysfunctional and have sleep apnea.
- Lose weight.
- Being overweight or obesity will cause difficulty in breathing.
The excess fat will get in the way of the air passages, causing tissues to vibrate and cause sleep apnea.
- Being overweight or obesity will cause difficulty in breathing.
- Vocal exercise
- Pronouncing words loud and clearly can help strengthen your throat. Try to repeat the vowels (A, E, I, O and, U) and say it out loud for three minutes a few times a day.
- Tongue exercise
- Position the tip of your tongue behind your top front teeth then slide your tongue backwards for three minutes each day.
- Mouth exercise
- Close your mouth and purse your lips, like zipping your mouth. Hold on to that position for at least 30 seconds and repeat a few times a day.
- Jaw exercise
- Open your mouth then move your jaw to the right and hold for a few seconds, 30 seconds at least. After 30 seconds, move to the left side the same way you did to the right. Repeat a few times.
- Throat exercise
- Open your mouth and tighten the muscle at the back of your throat, do this in front of the mirror to see your uvula (or the hanging ball) moving up and down to see that it works.
- Singing exercise
- Singing casually can increase your muscle control in the throat and soft palate, reducing snoring caused by muscles that are relaxed.
- Rapid Maxillary Expansion
- For children with obstructive sleep apnea. This process places an expandable brace on the roof of the mouth that increases the width of the upper jaw (maxilla).
- Jaw Advancement Surgery
- For teenagers and adults. This process will surgically break the jaw bones, moved forward and then fixed properly with screws and plates and will change the person’s facial structure or profile.
- Surgical Airway Advancement
- Similar to the other example. Bones of the upper and lower jaw will be repositioned in a way that will relieve airway obstruction.
- Nasal Strips
How long snoring can last and affect your ears
So, you might be wondering how long will someone snore. Does it ever go away? If you’re worried about your affected hearing, you should also know how to stop someone from snoring.
Snoring lasts as long as the cause of it persists, in other words, people will snore as long as they are sleeping and the reason of the snore is not fully eliminated. It will keep going on.
It does not go away by itself if there is an underlying cause of it such as sleep apnea. Constant snoring that is loud and includes pauses in breathing is a clear sign of sleep apnea.
According to a study, about 40% of adult men and 24% of adult women are habitual snorers. Approximately 22 million people suffer from sleep apnea which means that amount of people are actually snorers.
It may be normal to snore occasionally especially if we go to sleep while our body is completely exhausted. However, if we continue to snore even when we are not really tired, there must be a reason behind it.
Constant snoring and occasional snoring are two different things and the constant one will surely keep people up at night and potentially affect someone’s ears.
When there is an obstruction in the airways, the surrounding tissues would vibrate and produce the snoring sound that we know of.
So long as the obstruction persists, the snoring will continue.
Why you should stop snoring from affecting your ears
Did you also know that aside from affecting your ears, snoring can also do a lot of unhealthy things to our body. So then what else can it do? If you are snoring because of sleep apnea, you should be worried.
- Snoring & sleep apnea causes:
- Death
- Sleep apnea interrupts breathing that can affect the heart and the brain which can lead to sudden death during sleep.
- Difficult breathing
- Sleep apnea can occur when there is an obstruction in the airway or the brain is unable to function well that helps the body breathe, causing difficult breathing.
- Discomfort to your bed partner
- Since you will continue to snore, you will continue to make sleeping harder for your bed partner. This will eventually affect your overall relationship with people.
- Worsens other illnesses
- Being unable to breathe well during sleep disrupts your entire body’s functionality and eventually attacking the other diseases a patient may already have.
- Heart problems
- With sleep apnea, you are more prone to heart problems such as heart failure or heart attacks. This is due to the lack of blood oxygen levels.
- Irregular heartbeat
- Due to the low blood oxygen levels or the air is unable to reach your heart, it can lead to an abnormal heartbeat or pauses in breathing during sleep.
- Stroke
- Similar to heart problems
- Depression
- Being unable to breathe well during sleep and get the proper rest can mess up your emotions or eventually lead to depression.
- Weight gain or loss
- Sleep apnea messes up your body’s hormone production. You can end up gaining weight faster due to sleep apnea.
- Diabetes
- Having sleep apnea disables the body’s ability to control the sugar level which can lead to diabetes.
- High Blood Pressure
- Sleep apnea can potentially cause or worsen hypertension in people.
- Increases ADHD
- Being sleep deprived decreases the person’s ability to focus, worsening conditions such as ADHD.
- Headaches
- The lack of air that enters the brain can lead to other brain problems, but usually results in morning headaches.
- Daytime sleepiness
- Difficulty breathing at night can lead to restless sleeps, making you feel the need to stay asleep even during the day because your body couldn’t rest well at night.
- Insomnia
- Difficulty in breathing can lead to insomnia. Instead of waking up randomly at night, you will end up being unable to sleep.
- Seizures
- Sleep apnea patients are more prone to seizures during sleep compared to epilepsy patients without sleep apnea.
- Irritability
- When you are sleep deprived, you will unconsciously lose control of your emotional stability. You can become irritable or easily frustrated with sleep apnea.
- Poor memory
- Sleep apnea causes sleep deprivation which may lower your brain’s performance as it affects the brain activity, causing poor memory in patients.
- Respiratory diseases
- Sleep apnea is a respiratory disease that may cause other diseases or worsen them.
- Driving accidents
- The lack of concentration and daytime sleepiness can lead to driving accidents when you have sleep apnea.
- Death
If you suspect that you might have sleep apnea, consult your doctor immediately.
What causes snoring that affects your ears
To help you stop snoring and avoid affecting your ears, knowing what also causes it can help you out.
There are plenty of reasons why a person may snore but mainly, it’s when the person is experiencing difficulty in breathing.
When the body is unable to breathe properly, the surrounding tissues may vibrate which causes the sound called snoring.
This can happen because of chronic conditions or natural anatomy formation. It can be because of a narrow throat or such which can be fixed through surgeries.
If not, there are also other reasons why a person will snore. Check out this list to see if it may be applicable to your situation.
- 9 Reasons Why People Snore:
- Being overweight
- Body fat can get in the way of the body’s ability to stretch its airways open making it harder to breathe which will cause snoring.
- Airway obstruction
- Anything that can obstruct the airways will make breathing difficult and cause the tissues to vibrate and cause snoring.
- Sleeping position
- Sleeping on your back may cause the tongue to fall back and the muscles to relax which can block the airways.
- Drinking liquor
- Drinking excessive liquor especially before going to sleep will relax the muscles and create difficulty in breathing
- Smoking cigarettes
- Being exposed to smoke can cause the muscles to swell, slowly blocking the airways and also irritating the lungs making it harder to breathe, causing a person to snore.
- Taking medications
- Certain medications or sedatives such as sleeping pills will cause the muscles to relax and be unable to work as it should, making breathing difficult and cause snoring.
- Sleeping exhausted
- Sometimes, going to bed overworked or completely exhausted can cause snoring since the body is too tired to help your breathing stay normal.
- Anatomical build
- Your physical attributes can obstruct your airways and some of this can be hereditary.
- Age
- As we age, our throat will become narrower which is beyond our control. However, proper sleep routine and a healthy, balanced diet can prevent snoring or sleep apnea.
- Being overweight
Some of these cannot be prevented, but it’s still important that you know of it.
Related Questions
Can snoring affect your voice?
Yes, snoring can affect your voice and it usually causes hoarseness or voice weakness.
Apparently, the most common vocal symptom in snoring was hoarseness of the voice and it happened to 11 patients or at least 36.7% of people that participated for a snoring study.
How to muffle the sound of snoring?
To muffle the sound of snoring, consider using earbuds or listen to music with headphones or earphones.
If you can, the best way to muffle the sound of snoring is using a white noise machine that can successfully mask the sounds inside a room and replace it with your preferred “background” noise.
