Sleep Apnea Treatments
There are a number of treatments for sleep apnea that have been proven effective, including surgical treatments and mask-like devices that help your breathing.
The most often recommended treatment for mild and moderate sleep apnea is a machine that delivers air pressure grater than that of the surrounding air through a mask placed over your nose while you sleep. This is called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), and is just enough to keep your upper airway passages open and prevent you from snoring. It works for moderate or severe sleep apnea, but is somewhat uncomfortable and using it requires adjustment time. Trying on more than one mask and using a humidifier with your CPAP machine could be helpful. Always consult a doctor before you quit using the CPAP machine, since minor adjustments might fix the problem.
There are devices that automatically adjust the air pressure while you sleep and might be better than the CPAP. These are units that supply bilievel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) and provide more pressure when you inhale and less pressure when you exhale.
One recently approved airflow device is Adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV). It learns your normal breathing pattern and saves it into a built-in computer. During sleep the device uses pressure to normalize your breathing and prevent pauses. ASV may be more successful than CPAP at treating central sleep apnea, but there is not enough research available yet.
Easier to use than a CPAP but less effective are oral appliances. They are designed to keep your throat open by bringing your jaw forward. This sometimes relieves snoring and can treat mild obstructive sleep apnea. Oral devices can usually be supplied by your dentist. There are many different ones and it might take some time until you find the best fit. Always follow up with your dentist at least twice a year to reassess your symptoms and make sure that the fit is still good for you.
People whose tongue is the main source of obstruction when they lie on their back might benefit from tongue-restraining devices (TRDs), which consist of a suction cup that is gripped with the teeth and sucks the tongue forward.
When symptoms are particularly severe, sleep apnea surgery may be required to treat the disorder.