Maryland State Wire

• Chronic sinusitis can lead to snoring.

• Snoring can cause other medical issues, including higher risk for heart attacks and strokes.

• A balloon sinuplasty can fix chronic sinus problems.  

Chronic sinus problems are one reason that people may begin snoring, according to Kaplan Sinus Relief. Short-term effects of snoring include fatigue during the day, headaches, chest pain during the night and a sore throat in the morning.

Snoring takes place when your body is unable to breathe properly through the nose while sleeping, which can happen when the sinuses are inflamed or infected. Breathing through the mouth while sleeping causes the airways to narrow, and the soft tissues in the throat vibrate, causing the snoring sound.

Other factors that might cause people to snore include drinking alcohol or taking other muscle-relaxing sedatives, certain hormones caused by pregnancy, or being overweight, according to Cleveland Clinic. Snoring over a long period of time can lead to health problems, including a lower blood oxygen level, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and higher risk for heart attacks and strokes.

At-home remedies for snoring include sleeping on your side, sleeping with your head elevated or using nasal strips. If none of those methods help you stop snoring, a balloon sinuplasty procedure -- for those whose snoring is caused by chronic sinusitis -- can clear your sinuses for long-lasting relief.

The procedure typically lasts approximately 20 minutes, during which an ENT physician will insert a tiny balloon into your nasal sinuses and inflate it, allowing the sinuses to open up and helping you to breathe more easily. The procedure is minimally invasive, pain-free and done in the office.

Dr. James Oberman of Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers says a balloon sinuplasty is an efficient, minimally invasive way to resolve chronic sinus problems and the side effects that come along with them, which can include snoring. 

"(Balloon sinuplasty) addresses the anatomy in a minimally invasive, comfortable way for the patient without having to undergo general anesthesia, which was the conventional approach typical before the innovation with the balloons," Oberman told Maryland State Wire. "Under topical and local anesthesia, you can find the normal anatomic opening and widen it, essentially. So if you can open that anatomy with the balloon, it's much less morbidity, safer for the patient, as well as more cost-effective and efficient."

For more information about the symptoms of allergies and sinusitis, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.