Diagnosing Your Sleep Apnea

Diagnosing Your Sleep Apnea

Are you keeping your loved ones awake while you sleep? You may have sleep apnea. Visit Dr. Andrew Parker at Parker Ear, Nose, and Throat of Fairfield County, serving the Norwalk, CT area.

Diagnosing Your Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is characterized by blockage in the airways as one sleeps. Most people can identify sleep apnea by the very loud snoring that is produced by the blockage at night.

Tools for Self Diagnosis

STOP-BANG is a tool for you to use to assess whether or not you may have sleep apnea:

  • Do you snore loudly?
  • Are you often tired during the day?
  • Have you or someone else observed you not breathing while you slept?
  • Do you have or have you ever been treated for high blood pressure?
  • Is your BMI more than 35?
  • Are you older than 50?
  • Is the circumference of your neck bigger than 40cm?
  • Is your gender male?

If you have answered “yes” to at least 3 of the questions, you may have sleep apnea. Contact your doctor for more details.

Other Ways to Diagnose Sleep Apnea

Your doctor may request that you keep a 2-week sleep diary of your habits, sensations, and occurrences. Take this diary with you to discuss further treatment. 

Another way to diagnose sleep apnea is to participate in an overnight sleep study. Your doctor will ask you to slumber overnight in a sleep facility. You will be monitored by machines to see what your sleep patterns are.

If you feel uncomfortable or are unable to go to the sleep facility, you may complete at-home sleep tests. You will be instructed on how to use the testing instruments and the doctor will collect and interpret the results when the test is done.

Discover ways to feel more refreshed in the morning. Having your doctor diagnose and treat sleep apnea will have you resting soundly. Contact Dr. Parker at Parker Ear, Nose, and Throat of Fairfield County in Norwalk, CT, at (203) 866-8121 to schedule a consultation today.