SNORING - ANALYSIS, MEASUREMENT, CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

Snoring was described in Literature even before medicine, Common defin itions do not consider acoustic measurements of snoring, In this paper we discuss the main pathophysiological aspects of snoring and the sno ring-sleep relationship as the generating mechanisms, Snoring can be a nalysed and measured by the following methods: 1) Leq-Equivalent Conti nuous Sound Level, which only quantifies noisiness, annoyance, and dam age to the partner's and snorer's hearing; 2) Power Spectrum, with fre quency values, formantic structure data and typical shape, which can h elp to distinguish simple snoring from heavy snoring with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS); 3) Linear Prediction Code (LPC) method, which can define the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the upper airways a nd which locates sites of obstruction, Simulated snoring analysis with LPC and with simultaneous fluoroscopy permits the definition of CSA a nd the identification of three snoring patterns: nasal, oral and orona sal, Snoring is an important sign of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD), of the upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS), and of the OS AS. Snoring is a symptom of nasal obstruction and is associated with c ardiovascular diseases and nocturnal asthma as a trigger or causative factor; however, its acoustic features in these disorders are not well -defined, Home monitoring of snoring is very useful for epidemiology a nd is mandatory, together with heart rate and arterial oxygen saturati on (Sa,O-2), to screen SRBD.