Sleep Disorders: Causes & Treatments

Sleep disorders are an umbrella term for anything that affects the quality of your sleep and how you feel during the daytime hours. There are different types of sleep disorders:

• Sleep apnea: throat muscles relaxing and closing your airways
• Insomnia: inability to fall asleep or stay asleep during the night
• Narcolepsy: excessive tiredness during the day leading to sleep attacks that last a few minutes
• Restless leg syndrome: throbbing or itching sensations in the legs, especially at night
• Shift work disorder: disruption in the circadian rhythm when working late at night or early mornings

There are other conditions that can affect your sleep patterns and cause a variety of symptoms. 

Symptoms of Sleep Disorders

If you have any of these symptoms, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with our ear, nose and throat doctors in Phoenix.

• Snoring
• Gasping for breath during the night
• Falling asleep suddenly during the day
• Difficulty falling asleep
• Headache 
• Insomnia
• Fatigue
• Dry mouth
• Lack of concentration
• Irritability

Our Treatments for Sleep Apnea

CPAP Machine

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is administered by wearing a mask as you sleep. The mask is connected to a machine that delivers constant air pressure so your throat muscles do not relax and close. This treatment can be frustrating and difficult to tolerate at first, but as patients get used to the treatment, they can start to feel better overall. 

Inspire® Upper Airway Stimulation

If you are unable to tolerate the CPAP machine, we may recommend Inspire® Upper Airway Stimulation therapy for some sleep apnea patients. This is an FDA-approved therapy for obstructive sleep apnea. Inspire therapy involves the surgical implantation of 3 devices that work inside your body to deliver mild stimulation to airway muscles. Patients are in control of this system. When turned on at night, the system senses your breathing and stimulates the base of the tongue and tissue in the throat in order to keep the airway open as you sleep – without masks and hoses connected to a machine. 

You Have Questions: We Have Answers

When you come in for your appointment, we’ll cover commonly asked questions about sleep problems. We are trained to help answer such questions as:

• Why do I snore?
• Is snoring a serious problem?
• Why do I feel so tired during the days?
• Can poor sleep interfere with my work?
• What do CPAP machines feel like?
• Does the Inspire surgery hurt?
• And many more

More importantly, we can offer treatments for relief.

Our team at Biltmore ENT is ready to help you find out if you have sleep disorders in Phoenix. Contact our office today at (602) 956-1250 or click here to request an appointment.