Snoring is a sound that is being emitted from the upper airways when a sleeping person breathes. One type of snoring is known as “compensation snoring” and completely normal. Snoring is still a taboo and rarely talked about, even though nearly one in two people are affected by it.

The snoring sound is made by vibrating tissues obstructing the upper airways. Snoring can be more than just a nuisance for the partner. It can also indicate a condition called “obstructive sleep apnoea”. The apnoeas deprive the brain of oxygen. This leads to poor sleeping quality, which in turns leads to drowsiness during the day and can cause high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, impotence and depression.

Diagnostic measures include various questionnaires and polysomnography. For polysomnography, you will be given a portable recorder and shown how to use the machine at home. It will record your sleep parameters overnight. You then return the device to our medical practice the following day, where it will be analysed. Once we have the results, we will discuss the available treatment options with you.

Please note at this point that the polysomnography in our ENT practice is a private service. However, optimal and competent care for our patients with statutory health insurance is very important to us, even if we do not have any health insurance approval for this separate service.

What does that mean for you as a statutory health insurance patient? As a legally insured person, we must privately invoice you for carrying out a polysomnography as a self-payer service in the sense of individual health services, known as IGeL (Individuelle Gesundheitsleistung - Individual Medical Service). The IGeL services are additional services that are usually not covered by the statutory health insurance companies. Charges apply in accordance with the German Medical Fee Schedule (Gebührenordnung für Ärzte - GOÄ).