Snoring and Sleep Apnea in Military Personnel

Dr.K.O.Paulose FRCS DLO, Consultant ENT Surgeon, Jubilee Hospital, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

I have been working in a military hospital for 18 years and have come across many servicemen with snoring. It is causing havoc in the camps. A loud snorer can spoil the sleep of everyone, there used to fights over this. Reports of loud snoring are common among serviceman in the armed forces. Servicemen are often required to share confined accommodation.

I have not seen much of sleep apnea in these guys as most of them are quit fit, but use of alcohol is not forbidden which makes the situation worse. These men who snore are less likely to be obese than their civilian counterparts, but their lifestyle often makes continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) impractical.

EDS-Excessive day time sleepiness in a service man is hazardous for the country he is serving, can you imagine your armed men dozing off while on watch at the key points.

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is usually an inappropriate modality for servicemen, hence surgery, although painful is the only alternative. I used to do Laser surgery of Throat and Nose for this patients with good result. I found the pain threshold is high and the uses of narcotics are not much required.