In bedrooms nationwide, millions of men engage in a dirty little secret every night. It might start with heavy breathing, maybe a gasp or groan. Then, the rhythmic rise and fall of the chest. Women do it, too, but they’ll never admit it. Finally, as the panting climbs to a piercing climax, it happens: Your bed mate bolts upright, elbows you in the ribs and bellows, “Turn over; you’re snoring!”
It is believed that 50 million to 60 million Americans snore, most of them men. Stifling that baritone battle cry has grown into a multimillion-dollar industry, with over-the-counter remedies aplenty. The question is, do any of them work?
The answer is no. At least that’s what Dr. Peter Michaelson reported at the recent annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. The ear, nose, and throat surgeon from Wilford Hall U.S. Air Force Medical Center in San Antonio recently conducted a study on the subject.
“Patients come into our offices with all sorts of devices,” Michaelson said. “But based on the science we have, many of these quick-fix aids are not backed by a lot of scientific efficacy.”
Michaelson and study co-author Dr. Eric Mair tested a triad of popular commercial treatments on 37 snoring men and women, using nasal-dilator strips, a lubricating mouth spray and an ergonomic pillow. The result, measured by a sleep-monitoring device plus subjective accounts: No product significantly improved patients’ snoring (though the dilator requires longer use than the testing allowed). What can work, he said, are weight loss, physical repositioning and a multitude of surgical options, some of which may reduce snoring more than 90 percent.
Further studies are needed, Michaelson said.
The question on some people’s minds, though, is, What is an Air Force physician doing studying snoring treatments? “If you have men deployed and sleeping together in a big tent … it can affect performance. In training exercises, we’ve seen folks give away their position from over a kilometer away.”
In other words, if you or a loved one saws serious logs, seek professional help. Because if you snore, the terrorists win.
