4 Surprising Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

It’s estimated that around 30 million American adults have OSA, but only around six million have received a diagnosis — meaning 80% remain undiagnosed (and often unaware completely) and at risk for symptoms ranging from mild to severe.

At SLENT, with locations in Mandeville, Slidell, and Hammond, Louisiana, our otolaryngology specialists work with you toward a definitive diagnosis of sleep apnea. The process starts with cataloging symptoms.

Common OSA symptoms

Most people are familiar with the most common symptoms of OSA, which include:

Restless sleep
Snoring, choking, or gasping at night
Daytime fatigue and brain fog
Dry mouth, sore throat, and/or headaches in the mornings

Sleep apnea has also been connected to a higher risk of more serious health problems, like heart issues or heart attack, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and stroke.

However, there are some symptoms of OSA that can slip under the radar if you’re not aware they could be connected to sleep apnea.

4 surprising symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea

Even if you haven’t experienced major symptoms of OSA yet, sleep apnea could be responsible for some symptoms that aren’t commonly discussed.

1. Sleepwalking

An unexpected symptom that could be tied to OSA is sleepwalking. If you find yourself waking up somewhere other than your bed, or are told by a family member that you sleep walked in the night, OSA could be to blame.

2. Overactive bladder and nocturia

The fluctuations in oxygen levels during sleep apnea episodes can fool your heart and brain into overestimating fluid levels in your body — including in your bladder. This can lead to embarrassing incidents of nocturia (bedwetting) as well as a frequent, urgent need to urinate during your waking hours.

3. Visual hallucinations

Intense nightmares, sleep paralysis, and visual hallucinations have all been connected to OSA. If you’re having night terrors, awaken suddenly but find you can’t move, or have waking nightmares in the form of hallucinations, it could be a side effect of sleep apnea.

4. Erectile dysfunction

Tiredness can make you feel decidedly unsexy, but sleep apnea has also been shown to correlate with a higher risk for erectile dysfunction. One study of sleep apnea eliminated patients who already had risk of ED and found that out of those remaining, 51% displayed evidence of erectile dysfunction.

Diagnosing and treating sleep apnea

Now that you’re aware of even more symptoms of sleep apnea, it’s time to find out if you’re part of the population who unknowingly has it. At SLENT, we gather data about your sleep cycles with Home Sleep Testing, then analyze the data looking for evidence of OSA.

If you do have OSA, we can recommend several options, including:

A custom fitted oral appliance
Minor surgery to remove excess throat tissue or your tonsils
A device to maintain continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

Ready to learn more about your own potential case of OSA? Schedule a consultation at SLENT by calling 985-327-5905, or visit the contact page for more options.