Are there different kinds of snoring?

[Zsofia]

I’ve tried everything to make my SO quit it with the damned snoring. (He refuses to see a doctor about possible sleep apnea - trust me, I’ve tried.) The thing is, everybody says “Get him to sleep on his side!” Well, in addition to that being practically impossible (he won’t sleep in a shirt so I can’t pin a tennis ball in a sock to it, if he starts out on his side he goes right back to his back once he goes to sleep, etc.) on the times when he does sleep on his side it doesn’t really seem to affect his snoring much at all. Does that mean he has a different kind of snoring than most back sleeping snorers do? Could it be, like, his nose instead of his throat?

[Spoke]

The Master speaks (and quite recently, too):

Clearly many world-class snorers are born, not made, but aggravating factors abound, including being overweight (extra bulk compresses the tubing), drinking (hurts muscle tone), smoking (never good for respiration), and simply getting older (hence saggier inside and out). Obstructed nasal breathing is central in some cases, negligible in others.

Thus, Kimberly, nudging your husband may unblock his airway just by making him shift slightly, or the muscles in his throat may tense briefly as he edges closer to consciousness. **Or if he’s what’s known as a “tongue-base snorer” — i.e., his tongue tends to settle backward into his throat ** — he may semiconsciously move it out of snoring position (and, if you’re lucky, make that obscene smacking sound familiar to snorers’ bedmates everywhere). But once he settles in again, muscles relax, tissue sags back where it shouldn’t, and the din recommences.

[Spoke]

Oh, and there also seems to be an active thread on Cecil’s column over here.

[Zsofia]

I assume it’s not tongue-based, since wouldn’t that not happen on your side?

[Spoke]

@Zsofia

I assume it’s not tongue-based, since wouldn’t that not happen on your side?

That’s my guess. Must be a nose-snore.