Sleep Apnea
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive. This occurs when the throat muscles relax and block the airway inducing snoring or a choking sound. Another type of sleep apnea is central, a rare disorder. This occurs from the brain’s inability to control breathing while asleep.
Sleep apnea has many reoccurring symptoms such as drowsiness, irritability, loss of awareness and concentration, and a higher possibility of mental illness. Some people are more susceptible to sleep apnea than others. Men who are older and overweight are more likely to experience sleep apnea, as well as those with smaller airways, enlarged tonsils, or have a family history of the disorder.
How Is Sleep Apnea Treated?
If left untreated, sleep apnea can result in heart attack, heart failure, stroke, or other serious health problems. It is important to make an appointment with your doctor if you are experiencing the above symptoms.
The most common method of treatment is a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). A CPAP machine includes a mask that fits over your nose and mouth and blows air into a tube to increase airflow while sleeping. Pressure can be adjusted according to the doctor’s recommendations for each patient’s needs.
There are certain lifestyle changes that can reduce sleep apnea and snoring symptoms. For example, avoid sleeping flat on your back. Try falling asleep on your side and elevating your head higher than you normally do. Losing weight can also reduce the symptoms you are experiencing.
Lose the hose & mask.
Just sleep.
Introducing the only FDA approved obstructive sleep apnea treatment that works inside your body to treat the root cause of sleep apnea with just the click of a button.
Gary Livingston has been designated an Inspire Excellence Surgeon. The award is given to recognize excellence in 3 areas of Inspire: Expertise, Patient Experience, and Clinical outcomes. Only 50 surgeons out of the current 1000 eligible Inspire surgeons have been designated Physicians of Excellence, and Dr. Livingston has been the fastest Inspire surgeon to receive this honor.
What is Inspire?
Inspire Sleep Apnea Innovation provides an alternative to CPAP by treating the root cause of sleep apnea through a gentle stimulation of key airway muscles during sleep, allowing patients to sleep without a mask, hose or machine. You simply switch on your device before bed and let the technology do the work.
How Does it Work?
Inspire is a small device that is placed under the skin of the neck and chest during a short, outpatient procedure performed by Dr. Gary Livingston, an otolaryngologist at the Ear, Nose + Throat Care Center. The device is turned on immediately and controlled by a small remote that requires only 3 AAA batteries. It is the only FDA approved obstructive sleep apnea treatment that works inside the body with just the click of a button.
Will My Insurance Cover it?
Inspire is covered by most major insurance providers, including Medicare. If you have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, are getting an inconsistent benefit from your CPAP or are struggling to use it, are over the age of 22, and are not significantly obese, it’s likely that you will qualify to utilize Inspire as a treatment. For those who have chosen Inspire, 90% of bed partners report a decline in snoring, if not an elimination of it and 79% of those armed with Inspire saw a reduction in sleep apnea events.