Has anyone used one of these creepy-looking snore guards?

July 23, 2018 9:18 AM

I see some snore-related questions in the past but not this particular thing: I'm asking specifically about the weird little suction dealios that keep your tongue forward in your mouth.

I ordered one of these but have been afraid to use it. (I think I won't link as it's all ads.) It seems like you'd wake up with a dry, sore tongue. They're basically a little suction cup that holds your tongue, and you bite down on the thing and go to sleep, et voila, your tongue does not slide back in your throat and cause you to snore.

(I have mild apnea. I think it improved some when I lost 25# but I'm still 10-15# from what I think of as my ideal weight and have seriously plateau'd and am not counting on getting there soon to see if that helps more.)

Anyone tried these perverse-looking little plastic mouth-squids?

posted by Smearcase to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

Yes. I've tried a variety of different kinds. I know you're talking about the tongue suction kind, but for the sake of other people looking for anti-snore help that stumble upon this in the future I'll talk about both kinds.

So the tongue-bulb-suction things only help if you are a tongue snorer. They way the work is you squeeze the bubble and suction it to your tongue. It then has a kind of pacifier guard with the bulb part staying outside of your mouth. They're actually not that uncomfortable and definitely more comfortable than the "Mandibular Advancement Devices" (MAD). In my experience they also didn't help much. It depends on how much of your snoring is due to your tongue falling back into your throat when you sleep. You can test yourself to see if it might help by sticking your tongue out of your mouth and then trying to make a snoring sound. If it's difficult to do or is noticeably lessoned then one of these might work for you.

Things to keep in mind for the suction-bulbs:

- They make your tongue feel weird in the morning. I found it got itchy after a few days and since it didn't much help with my snoring I gave up on them, so can't say if you adjust or not.
- You can't mouth breathe with them in, which means if you are sick or have allergies you're going to have a bad time.

The MADs I've found work better for me. They work by pushing your jaw forward and they are supremely uncomfortable. Your jaw does get used to it after a while, though. You can also get MADs that also have a tongue restrainer so that you get the best of both worlds. I had one of those and it made a big difference. The other nice things about MADs is you can get better quality ones that do let you mouth breathe through them. If you go with a MAD, don't cheap out. There are newer designs out there that are more comfortable and offer better breathing than a lot of older designs that are still for sale.

For me snoring turned out to mostly be allergy related. I found this out by accident after going on prescription allergy meds in a particularly rough summer. It completed cleared up my snoring in addition to offering relief. It was honestly like I had never properly breathed before. I had no idea I was struggling as much as I was all year round. I talked to my doctor and now have a year round prescription.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 9:44 AM on July 23, 2018 [4 favorites]

I tried one for my apnea. Impossible to sleep with your tongue sticking out.
posted by H21 at 10:53 AM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

I have tried a cheap-ass one I got on Amazon, and it does seem to work, but the problem is that it seems to either fall off, or I take it off in my sleep. It's not uncomfortable at all, and it does make your tongue feel a little weird in the morning, but it's minor at its worst.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:29 AM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

I used one successfully with my last pregnancy! I started snoring due to the increase in weight and it seemed to help for the last few months. Took some getting used to, made me super drooly, but I was able to get used to it (however, I've also had plenty of experience with mouth guards, retainers, and braces, so I'm used to having devices in my mouth and they don't keep me awake). Tongue felt weird for about 2 weeks and then it was unnoticeable.

I tried again with this pregnancy and it didn't work for me for some reason! :( :( :( I couldn't get the required suction and it kept falling out. Not sure why. I even bought a new device from the same company, but it just didn't work.

So your mileage may vary obviously, but it did work for me at one time. :/
posted by Knicke at 11:30 AM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]