Cure For The Common Snore?

A 48 Hours special report looks at snoring, and a new treatment that's helping sufferers to get a good night's sleep.

It was bedtime at the White residence in Chandler, Arizona, but that doesn't mean the family got much sleep.

The Whites had a snorer in the house. And while that may sound funny to some, for the Whites, it was very serious. It meant lethargic days brought on by sleepless nights.

"He can shake the shingles off the house," said Terri White, of her husband, Tim, and his chronic snoring. "It wakes me up. A lot. Several times a night."

"Sometimes I wake up and my heart's pounding just because I can't breathe anymore," Tim said.

While the cacophony of snorts, grunts, and groans brought on by snoring can be nothing more than a mild inconvenience to some, for Tim White and many of the 40 million other Americans who snore, the condition is severe enough to warrant medical attention.

"What happens to these people is they are tired during the day," according to Dr. Joel Cohen, who treats Tim's condition. "They have a lack of concentration. They're irritable. And they don't realize that it could be due to their snoring."

But lethargy is a side effect that Tim and Terri don't have to deal with much anymore. They asked Dr. Cohen for a new, minimally invasive treatment, and eight-weeks after having the 10-minute procedure, the Whites are beginning to see results.

He still snores, but not as badly as before, Terry now says. "He does this all night long. Not loud. Not obnoxious. Not like I want to throw something at him."

The new treatment is called Somnoplasty. A device uses radio frequencies to administer a heat-type injury to tissues in the back of the mouth and throat that cause the snoring, says Dr. Ronald Roth, head of the Southern California Head and Neck Medical Group and Surgical Center.

The patient feels some discomfort, similar to a mild sore throat. But as the damage heals, the tissue shrinks, and the snoring should either be diminished or disappear entirely.

"We've had about an 85 percent reduction, if not cure, in snoring of patients," Dr. Roth says.

There are two alternative treatments for snoring, but they involve incisions to the back of the throat, either with lasers or a scalpel. That means a great deal of discomfort to the patient, and a longer recovery time.

Among the greatest benefits to Somnoplasty is that the amount of discomfort to the patient is greatly reduced because there is no incision.

Doctors warn that the procedure doesn't guarantee that your snoring will disappear. And many patients return for follow up treatments. But in cases like that of Tim White's, just reducing the amount of snoring enough to allow for a restful night of sleep can be enough.

"If Tim's wife is happy with the result, and Tim feels that he's waking up more refreshed, and he feel better, that's the positive result we're looking for," Dr. Cohen says. "The snoring is in the ears of the beholder."

How Somnoplasty Works

Expert Q & A

Snoring: The Facts

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