SE LA Times

• 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 tissue in the throat vibrate, causing the snoring sound.

Other factors that might cause people to snore include drinking alcohol, taking 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.

If your snoring is caused by chronic sinus problems, a balloon sinuplasty is one solution that will have lasting effects, according to Kaplan. At-home remedies 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 can clear your sinuses for long-lasting relief.

The procedure typically lasts approximately 20 minutes, during which an ear, nose and throat (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. Matt Hershcovitch of SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers said 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. 

"At SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers, we specialize in nasal and sinus surgery, specifically minimally invasive nasal and sinus surgery," Dr. Hershcovitch told SE LA Times. "This has led to almost a revolution, a renaissance, in treating these poor patients with chronic sinusitis, nasal obstruction, snoring, postnasal drip, eustachian tube dysfunction. All of these unfortunate patients are living with a chronic condition that many of them were unaware that they could cure with some simple in-office procedures."

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