Analysis of Snoring Sound in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients Based on Obstruction Site

Abstract

Background and ObjectivesZZThe detection of obstruction site is very important for the surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Among the various diagnostic modalities for detection that have been tried, an analysis of snoring sound could be a simple and safe alternative. This study evaluates the usefulness of sound analysis in OSA as a detection tool of obstruction site. Subjects and MethodZZFifteen patients who had been enrolled for the suspicion of OSA were studied. They were examined by videofluoroscopy and polysomnography to evaluate the obstruction site. During videofluoroscopy, snoring sound was recorded simultaneously. The snoring sound was analyzed by using Matlab program and its sonic characteristics were evaluated on the basis of the results in polysomnography and videofluoroscopy. ResultsZZAccording to the videofluoroscopy, 5 out of 15 patients showed narrowness only in the soft palate, while the rest of the 10 patients showed narrowness both in the soft palate and tongue base. Most of the snoring sound from the soft palate was of a low tone, under 1000 Hz, while the snoring sound from both soft palate and tongue base showed a high tone band, over 1000 Hz frequently and hump around 10 kHz. There was no specific correlation be tween apnea-hypopnea index and sonic characteristic. ConclusionZZThe analysis of snoring sound may be a useful tool for detecting the obstruction site in OSA.� Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg 2012;55:493-7 Key WordsZZObstructive sleep apnea ㆍSnoring ㆍSound analysis.