Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
Sleep Apnea
Overview
Obstructive sleep apnea is a common, yet serious sleep disorder that causes you to stop breathing while you sleep. This occurs because your airway becomes repeatedly blocked during sleep, limiting the amount of air that can reach your lungs.
Obstructive sleep apnea can lead to serious problems due to the reduced oxygen levels and arousals from sleep. For some, sleep apnea can lead to, or aggravate, serious health effects, including hypertension, depression, headaches, heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, arrhythmias, and decreased quality of life.
10Common Symptoms
- Snoring
- Irregular nocturnal breathing
- Non-restorative and/or restless sleep
- Daytime fatigue
- Morning headaches
- Recent weight gain
- Morning dry mouth
- Insomnia
- Frequent night-time urination
- Depression
Diagnosis and Treatment
A diagnosis is made through conducting a sleep study, which is an overnight test that can be conducted at home or in the sleep lab. By monitoring your breathing, oxygen levels and brain waves, a diagnosis of sleep apnea can be made. A sleep study will also be able to establish if you have a different type of sleep apnea such as central sleep apnea or mixed sleep apnea.
Though there are many options for treating sleep apnea, recommended treatment courses will depend on a number of factors, including severity of the sleep apnea or snoring, physical and anatomical causes, and history. Our sleep specialists work with you to develop a treatment plan that best fits your needs.
Meet Our Team
Our sleep team consists of board-certified sleep doctors who are dedicated to helping you sleep and breathe better. As leaders in the field, we use the latest techniques to properly diagnosis and manage the entire breadth of sleep disorders. Our team is unique in that we have four physicians on staff who are board-certified in both otolaryngology–head and neck surgery and sleep medicine, more than any other sleep program in US.
