Perhaps you are not aware of this, but not all snorers are alike. Snoring has many causes. Fortunately, there are also a number of different snoring aids hat are precisely suited to your snoring requirements. We can roughly distinguish between the following different causes of snoring „nasal snoring“ (top snoring aid: nasal dilator), “tongue snoring” (appropriate snoring aid: snoring mouthpieces / mandibular advancement devices (MADs), “mouth snoring“ (snoring aid of choice: mouth guards for mouth snoring) and “pharyngeal snoring” (suitable snoring aid: anti-snore braces).
The good news is: You don’t need a medical degree to find out which type of snorer you are. We will give you all the advice you need to identify your type of snoring and find out what snoring aid really works for you. You should however excercise caution, , if in addition to snoring, you also experience sleep apnea / breathing interrruptions whilst sleeping.
Here you will get to know how to understand your down and sleep behaviour and snoring noises better: What helps for snoring and conversely, what leads to snoring. But you should be particularly cautious when your snoring is accompanied by breathing interruptions. Then there is no way around the visit of a ENT doctor or sleep physician. Sleep apnea is a serious disease which should always be treated by a doctor.
If you’re in a hurry, simply take our anti snoring test that helps determine what type of snorer you are. It will give you the quickest answer on the question: What stops my snoring?
The Nasal Snorer
Sound
With nasal snoring, the noise is a consistent, fluttery or rumbling, grunting sound. Yet it can also sound like the whistling of a kettle.
Self-Diagnosis
Determine whether nasal breathing is already impaired while awake – if so, then your snoring is most likely (also) the result of a nasal problem. Simply try our nose snoring test! Conversely, if you can breathe through the nose during the day without any issues, then it is unlikely that the cause of your snoring is related to your nose.
Nasal snoring often results in a dry mouth, bad breath or headaches.
Snoring Causes
Nasal snoring is caused by impaired nasal breathing, which can have several causes: There might be anatomical reasons (a deviated nasal septum) but quite often allergies or a cold are the cause.
Snoring Aids
Nasal Dilator
Nasal dilators or nasal strips widen the nostrils and improve nasal breathing.
Nasal Irrigation
A nasal douche rinses mucous and secretions from the nose and is especially help with allergies or colds.
Surgical Procedures
are often inevitable in cases of severe anatomical restrictions of breathing (which can trigger strong snoring).
The Tongue Snorer
Sound
With tongue the snoring noise occurs in spurts. In many cases the tone is higher than the typical snoring sound. Here 
you can listen what snoring sounds like when your tongue is more voluminous than the average and obstructs the airways.
Self-Diagnosis
Find out if you only snore in a supine position (while sleeping on your back). If so, then in all likelihood you are affected by tongue snoring (also called “tongue base snoring”). Anatomical particularities, such as a retrognathic mandible (“receding chin”) or a very large tongue also indicate this type of snoring.
Snoring causes
Tongue snoring occurs almost entirely in a supine position (i.e. when you sleep on your back). When the muscles of the tongue relax, the rear part of the tongue – the base of the tongue – slides backwards into the throat and constricts or blocks the airways there.
Snoring Aids
Anti-Snoring MAD’s
Snoring mouthpieces gently move the lower jaw forward, thus preventing the tongue from sliding into the pharynx. What should you know, before buying a mandibular advancement device (MAD), though? Click here to find out!
Positional Therapy
Positional therapy includes products such as anti-snoring backpacks, anti-snore sleep belts or anti-snore pillows. They prevent you from sleeping on your back and keep you gently on the side.
The Mouth Snorer
Sound
With mouth snoring, the sound is evenly rumbling or fluttery noise. It reminds of the sound of a slack sail in the wind. Here you will find an audio sample of mouth snoring caused by tonsils which are too large. In addition, you can hear a snoring sound that is caused by the uvula here.
Self-Diagnosis
Find out whether you also snore with your mouth closed. If you only snore with an open mouth, you are a mouth snorer.
Try to make a snoring sound with your mouth open. If this sounds like your snoring noise at night, you are most likely a mouth snorer. However, you will need a partner who can observe you to do this “test”.
Snoring causes
In the case of mouth snorers, the transition from the oral cavity to the throat is narrowed by flabby tissue. The breathing air causes the tissue to vibrate, resulting in the snoring noise.
Nasal breathing can also be a trigger for mouth snoring. If you don’t get enough air through your nose overnight, you automatically breathe through your mouth. Also, if the palatal tissue is weak, mouth snoring occurs.
Snoring Aids
Mouth Guard
The somnipax snoring aid prevents breathing through the mouth.
Nasal dilators
These snoring aids improve nasal breathing and, therefore, prevent you from breathing through the mouth.
Surgery
Tightens the tissue in the throat area (especially the soft palate).
The Throat (Pharyngeal) Snorer (with Breathing Interruptions / Apnea)
Sound
With throat snoring, snoring noise itself is very loud. This is followed by long phases of quietness (20 seconds or more). The noise is often also described as unrythmic.
Self-Diagnosis
You may suffer from throat snoring if you snore no matter which position you sleep in (prone-, supine- or lateral position) and at the same time you experience breathing interruptions at regular intervals, this indicates that you suffering from sleep apnea. Further indications for sleep apnea are irregular respiration, a high body mass index (>30) and one or more positive answers (= medium or high probability) in the Epworth-Sleepiness Questionnaire . Sleep apneas are dangerous and should always be examined by a medical professional.
Snoring causes
The tissue in the oral and pharyngeal cavity relaxes during sleep, sinks into the respiratory tract and blocks it. Breathing air cannot pass these constrictions or only with strong resistance. This leads to breathing stops. When the body notices these interruptions, it triggers a “start from one’s sleep” (so-called arousals). The muscles become tense and the airways are open again. This process repeats itself many times per night and leads to irregular breathing.
Snoring Aids
CPAP-Therapie
It consists of a respirator (CPAP), which is connected to a breathing mask via a hose. This therapy clears your airways with excess pressure and ensures constant breathing.
EPAP-Therapie 
EPAP is better known under the brand name Provent. In this case two small ventilated plasters are placed over the nostrils. With these you can freely breathe in air. Exhalation on the other hand is slowed down. The result is that the airways start to inflate and remain open.
UAS-Therapie
Stimulation therapy of the upper airways (UAS) can also stop pharyngeal snoring. For that purpose, a tongue pacemaker is implanted underneath the tongue. It releases electric impulses. The muscles of the tongue base contract and the airways remain free from any obstruction.
Mandibular advancement device guide – answers based on practical experience
Mandibular advancement devices can help with sleep apnoea in a lot of cases. They are now also provided by the NHS. Find out how exactly they can help, and when they are provided by the NHS.
Medical Doctor, Berlin
Jan Wrede works as a medical doctor in Berlin. He studied medicine at FAU University in Erlangen-Nuremberg and Semmelweis University in Budapest. He had already written numerous scientific articles during his studies, especially on the subject of snoring.
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