Sleeping next to a snoring spouse? For bed partners forced out of the bedroom by loud sounds, snoring is a major inconvenience. And when conventional cures like nose strips and nasal sprays don't work, a surgical solution may become necessary. A study by doctors at the University of Hong Kong Medical Center looks at a new oral implant that could effectively reduce snoring and help the social life of snorers.

What the researchers wanted to know: Can an oral implant reduce snoring?

What they did: Surgeons inserted two or three plastic implants into the mouths of 12 heavy snorers who were not obese and were chosen for the study based on the apnea-hypopnea index, which measures abnormal breathing patterns. The implants went into the soft palate, a muscular flap in the back of the mouth while patients were under either general or local anesthesia. The implant is thought to make the soft palate more rigid, which could reduce the vibrations of the soft palate that occur with irregular breathing patterns and make that snoring sound. The researchers also asked the people who sleep with the snorers about their own sleep and their partners' snoring; before the surgery, they gave their partners' snoring an average loudness of 79 (out of 100). Nine of the patients made it back three months after the surgery to have their snoring assessed; one patient didn't return for the follow-up and the other two lost one or two implants.

What they found: Three months after getting the implants, the snorers didn't snore as loudly as they used to, according to them and their partners. Many of the bed partners of the snorers said they didn't have to leave the room because of snoring as often as before, and their families' sleep was disturbed less often. They also said their partners snored, on average, less than two thirds as much after getting the implant. Eight of the patients said that they would recommend the ASD implant for the treatment of snoring, and six of their partners of the patients also said they would recommend the palatal implant.

What the study means to you: This is the first clinical study on the use of a plastic implant to lessen severe snoring, and the results look promising. Not only was the procedure minimally invasive and apparently safe for the patients, but the implant reduced snoring. The implant suggests a new type of solution for severe snoring—even one of the people who lost an implant asked for another one to be inserted.

Caveats: The study used a relatively small number of participants, who were all evaluated only by themselves and their bed partners. Because levels of loudness for snoring were subjective, the numbers could leave room for individual biases, such as a spouse sleeping especially soundly one night and having trouble accurately evaluting their partner's snoring the next morning.

Find out more: The American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery explains more about snoring.

Read the article: Ho, W., Wei, W.I., and K. Chung. "Managing Disturbing Snoring With Palatal Implants" Archives of Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. June 2004, Vol. 130, No. 7, pp. 753-758.