as an ENT specialist i can state that OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) is the new rising star in diagnoses.
just as laryngeal reflux was "the diagnosis of the 90s" OSA will be the diagnosis of the 2000s and 2010s etc
it is probably still way underdiagnosed.
we all thought it was funny when grandpa (or dad or grandma) snored but only recently have the effects of OSA been studied more in depth
and even now there are new treatments being studied (example - a base of tongue pacemaker - since collapse of the base of the tongue
is one of the mechanisms by which the airway is compromised during sleep.)
i can tell you that i take these patients seriously and send them all for a sleep test.
problem is some do not want to go ("its just snoring" "then why did you come see me in the first place" "it bothers the wife" "well it could be serious and needs to be checked"
"forget it")
another problem is that even when discovered many refuse the treatments offered.
not all the treatments are effective in every person (in medicine if there are many treatment options it means that THE treatment has not yet been found)
and another problem is the doctors
in my country OSA is reportable to the DMV. and is a criminal offense if not reported but if the person is treated it is not reportable.
and docs are afraid of reporting for fear of retribution by patient (physical or other violence and lawsuits etc)
so patient says i will get treated and so doc does not report him
patient does not get treatment and gets into an accident of whatever type.
it is not yet law but perhaps should be that people working jobs like bus or truck driver RR engineer/mass transit motorperson airline pilot etc get tested for OSA
perhaps someday every driver will need to be/
or maybe if Elon Musk google and whoever succeed in driverless cars (trucks busses trains?) maybe that will not be needed......
BTW if your parents snored and you are in late teens to twenties get a sleep test
article few years ago showed a not small percent of such kids to have occult OSA when they did a sleep test even absent symptoms.....
just as laryngeal reflux was "the diagnosis of the 90s" OSA will be the diagnosis of the 2000s and 2010s etc
it is probably still way underdiagnosed.
we all thought it was funny when grandpa (or dad or grandma) snored but only recently have the effects of OSA been studied more in depth
and even now there are new treatments being studied (example - a base of tongue pacemaker - since collapse of the base of the tongue
is one of the mechanisms by which the airway is compromised during sleep.)
i can tell you that i take these patients seriously and send them all for a sleep test.
problem is some do not want to go ("its just snoring" "then why did you come see me in the first place" "it bothers the wife" "well it could be serious and needs to be checked"
"forget it")
another problem is that even when discovered many refuse the treatments offered.
not all the treatments are effective in every person (in medicine if there are many treatment options it means that THE treatment has not yet been found)
and another problem is the doctors
in my country OSA is reportable to the DMV. and is a criminal offense if not reported but if the person is treated it is not reportable.
and docs are afraid of reporting for fear of retribution by patient (physical or other violence and lawsuits etc)
so patient says i will get treated and so doc does not report him
patient does not get treatment and gets into an accident of whatever type.
it is not yet law but perhaps should be that people working jobs like bus or truck driver RR engineer/mass transit motorperson airline pilot etc get tested for OSA
perhaps someday every driver will need to be/
or maybe if Elon Musk google and whoever succeed in driverless cars (trucks busses trains?) maybe that will not be needed......
BTW if your parents snored and you are in late teens to twenties get a sleep test
article few years ago showed a not small percent of such kids to have occult OSA when they did a sleep test even absent symptoms.....
