What is the Voicebox Doing When You Scream? Yodel?

In the same spirit of a recent TEDMED talk by Nate Bell and re-published on CNN Jan 12, 2012 whereby he performed various beatboxing noises while stroboscopy was performed, I decided to record a similar video with a person performing various unusual human vocalizations to see what happens.

For those who don't know what stroboscopy is, click here.

Such vocalizations recorded included various types of human screams and a yodel.

Check it out here...

New Video on "Where" Snoring Comes From and Treatment

Our office has produced a new video describing "where" snoring comes from determined by a simple procedure known as sedated or sleep endoscopy.

At its most basic definition, snoring is noise produced from a vibrating mucosal surface in the upper airway.

Though snoring can be defined simply, the tough question is WHERE are these vibrating mucosal surfaces? Because unless one can define WHERE the snoring is coming from, successful treatment can't be pursued definitively.

An office exam performed while a patient is awake is suboptimal as the patient is awake... and not snoring. As such, it is an educated guess where the snoring problem is stemming from.

To this end, there are three main levels where snoring can be produced and the best way to localize a snore is to perform the exam while the patient is asleep (induced by anesthesia) and snoring!

1) Nose
2) Mouth
3) Throat
4) All of the above

Watch the video to see how each of these areas can contribute to a person's snore as well as treatment options.

Sleep Endoscopy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring

A new webpage has been created describing a procedure called "sleep endoscopy" or "sedated endoscopy."

This procedure is performed on patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or severe snoring in order to determine where the source of their problem is anatomically located.

This special exam is needed in patients where such anatomic determination is not able to be made in the clinic while they are awake. As such, an anesthesiologist would put the patient to sleep using IV medications and when snoring or obstructive events happen, endoscopy is performed.

Areas that will be specifically examined during sleep endoscopy include:

• Behind the palate
• Uvula
• Back of Tongue
• Walls of the Throat
• Epiglottis
• Voicebox

Each of these areas may experience collapse during sleep causing obstructive or snoring symptoms.

Why is this information helpful? Well... once it is apparent where and what is the culprit causing a given patient's problems, surgical treatment can be geared more specifically and directly to the area of concern seen during sedated endoscopy.

Read more here!