East Panhandle News

• Up to 45 percent of American adults snore, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology.

• One of the possible reasons for snoring is chronic sinusitis.

• A balloon sinuplasty can provide long-lasting effects, which can help end snoring.

Balloon sinuplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that can be just as effective as traditional sinus surgery, according to Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.

One of the benefits is that balloon sinuplasty can also help with snoring.

"The recovery is very, very favorable for the patient compared to traditional sinus surgery," Blair told East Panhandle News. "Most people will benefit from it, to the point where they won't need a second procedure. There's always traditional sinus surgery, if you fail something minimally invasive. That's why it's called 'smart sinus surgery' because it's very tailored to a specific sinus or all the sinuses that you need, but a specific sinus and a specific problem."

In an international consensus statement on allergy and rhinology from Wiley, a multi-institutional case-control study was noted that focused on sleep patterns. This study showed that individuals who suffer from chronic sinusitis have an increased number of awakenings during a nights sleep, as well as spend a greater portion of the night snoring.

Other factors that might cause people to snore include drinking alcohol or taking other muscle-relaxing sedatives, certain hormones caused by pregnancy, or being overweight, according to Cleveland Clinic. Snoring over a long period of time can lead to health problems, including a lower blood oxygen level, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and higher risk for heart attacks and strokes.

At-home remedies include sleeping on your side, sleeping with your head elevated or using nasal strips. If none of those methods help you stop snoring, a balloon sinuplasty procedure can clear your sinuses for long-lasting relief. The procedure typically lasts approximately 20 minutes, during which an ENT physician will insert a tiny balloon into your nasal sinuses and inflate it, allowing the sinuses to open up and helping you to breathe more easily. The procedure is minimally invasive, pain-free and done in the office.

For more information about the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.