PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Snoring affects millions of Americans. Studies show that 65% of men and 45% of women snore.
Those numbers could potentially decrease with a recently FDA-approved device that promises a quieter night’s sleep.
Dr. Richard Friedenheim, medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Abington-Jefferson Health, said the device, called eXciteOSA, is worn during the day to deliver electrical muscle stimulation through a mouthpiece, which strengthens the tone of the tongue.
Strengthening the muscle function can prevent the tongue from collapsing backward and obstructing the airway during sleep.
“It’s basically used 20 minutes a day and at the beginning, they do it for six weeks for 20 minutes a day,” he explained. “You could be doing something, you could be reading or things like that. It has the electrodes above and below the tongue, and it’s sort of a mouthpiece. After the 6 weeks, it’s usually once a week for about 20 minutes each time.”
Friedenheim said studies have proven it is effective.
“In looking at what percentage of the patients had at least a 20% reduction in their snoring time, it was 75% of the patients,” he said. “In fact, they achieved about a 40% reduction in snoring time over the course of the night in 75% of the patients.”
He said it has also been effective to help the more than 110 million people with mild sleep apnea, in which the upper airway becomes blocked during sleep and reduces or stops the airflow. Sleep apnea can lead to serious medical complications, including heart attack, glaucoma, diabetes and cancer.
The eXciteOSA device is prescription-only, according to the FDA.