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John Wesley Hardin was a western gunfighter and outlaw in the late 1800′s. Legend has it that, upon becoming so mad about the loud snoring in an adjacent hotel room, he fired several pistol shots through the bedroom wall into the snorer’s room. The shots first waked the man, then killed him!
Does the annoying sound (and volume) of a snoring mate have this effect on you? Hopefully not, but at times we’ve all felt extreme frustration. Snoring volume can be determined by several contributing factors: the amount of dangling soft tissue in the back of the throat, the deepness of the snorer’s breathing, and the size and clearance of the nasal passages, all play a part in the sound that’s created. Even very small people (men and women), can blissfully produce a symphony (first row volume), if these internal factors accommodate snoring.
Regardless of our interpretations of snoring sounds, can we all agree that it’s usually quite loud? Snoring volume is one of the most annoying sounds that has actually been quantified by researchers. Silence, of course, is measured in 0 decibels. The level of measured sound that can disturb sleep is 30 decibels. A garbage disposal creates 60 decibels. General snoring produces between 60-80 decibels. A jackhammer on concrete produces about 82 decibels. Loud snoring can produce 90 decibels! This is at a level just under the sound of a chainsaw (100 decibels) – which is probably how the description of snoring as “sawing logs” became popular.
One research study in Sweden revealed that over time, a snoree can suffer hearing loss due to their partner’s loud long term snoring. This is certainly a cause for concern, in addition to the many other consequences that can be created by snoring.
We’ll begin exploring things you can do to possibly help reduce or eliminate snoring in your household. There are many “remedies” marketed to the public, and the problem is that solutions can only be found on an individual basis – since we were all unique and have different contribution factors and habits that cause snoring.
