Snoring is the sound heard when the airway is blocked during sleep. It can result from a number of things: obesity, enlarged tonsils and adenoids, deformities in the nasal passages, etc. Smoking, heavy drinking, overeating, especially before bedtime, and nasal allergies can lead to snoring by swelling the nasal passages and blocking the free flow of air. Also, persons who sleep on their backs are more likely to snore because the tongue falls back toward the throat and partly closes the airway. Nine out of 10 snorers are men, and most of them are age 40 or over.

  Throat anatomy                   Tonsillectomy

• hoarse noise emitted by sleeping persons from intake and expelling of breath, usually with mouth open
• more common in elderly and men
• most common in obese persons
• in children, often the result of enlarged adenoids or tonsils

Causes:

• caused by vibration of vocal chords and soft palate
• associated with obstruction of nasal passages, hence breathing through mouth
• no known cause (most common)
• too much alcohol or sedation at bedtime
• chronic nasal congestion
• obstruction caused by enlarged adenoids and tonsils
• sleep apnea
• A central nervous system disorder such as a stroke, a brain tumor, or even a viral brain infection

  　

Remedies:

usually can be corrected by removing nasal obstructions or by altering position of sleeper so that person does not lie on back