Is my snoring dangerous or just annoying?

Factors contributing to snoring include:

• Mouth breathing: Breathing through the mouth during sleep leads to increased airflow and vibration of the tissues in the throat and mouth, causing them to create more vibrate and more characteristic snoring noise. The obstruction in the nose airway during sleep disturbs the balance between the nose and the oral cavity, resulting in noisy breathing, snoring, and, eventually, sleep apnea.

• Narrow airways: Incorrect breathing habits can lead to muscular dysfunction and postural imbalances and can cause worse snoring. The low tongue posture results in the narrowing of the upper jaw, which invariably pushes the lower jaw back, compressing the airways and disturbing the orofacial system.
• Enlarged adenoids and tonsils: Enlarged adenoids and tonsils are common causes of snoring, particularly in children. Adenoids and tonsils both are located at the back of the throat. If adenoids or tonsils or both of them are enlarged (swollen) due to infection, it can disrupt normal airflow and the increased effort required for breathing, which results in a snoring sound as air flows past the obstructed tissues.

• Nasal blockage: Nasal congestion due to allergies, colds, or other respiratory issues and nasal septum (a crooked partition between nostrils) obstruct airflow from the nose. Breathing through the mouth is required, which increases the likelihood of snoring.
• Obesity: Excessive fat in the neck and tongue can lead to the narrowing of the airways, which can restrict airflow.
• Obstructive sleep apnea (OAS): OAS is a sleep disorder in which the throat closes entirely during sleep, where breathing temporarily stops and starts repeatedly during sleep. In sleep apnea, the airway is partially or completely blocked, resulting in loud snoring and periods of silence when breathing is interrupted.
• Tongue tie: A short, tight band of tissues tethers the tongue’s tip to the floor of the mouth, which ideally should be on the roof of the mouth.  The breathing, posture, jaw growth, drinking, eating, and swallowing are affected and could lead to snoring and slowly progress to sleep apnea.

• Aging: The muscles of the face, throat, and tongue may lose some of their muscle tone with aging, become too relaxed, narrow the airway, and are prone to snoring.
• Lack of tongue space: Insufficient space for the tongue in the oral cavity can lead to the tongue being positioned in a way that partially obstructs the airways and causes snoring.
• Backwardly positioned lower jaw: The backward-positioned lower jaw contributes to the tongue and soft tissues in the throat falling backward during sleep, collapsing into the airways, obstructing airflow, and causing vibrations that produce the sound of snoring.
• Allergies and asthma: Allergies could lead to inflammation in the lining of the membrane of your nose and throat and obstruct the airways, resulting in snoring.