An Objective Analysis of Human Snoring Based on an Acoustic Technique to Determine the Obstruction Site

Snoring is considered a cause of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and a significant disturbance of social stability due to the discomfort it can cause in the environment. For these reasons, the study of snoring has generated interest in medicine. It has led to the development of techniques and instrumentation that contribute to improving effective diagnoses and treatments. The acoustic analysis of snoring signals has gained importance in recent years. Consequently, the acoustic characteristics of snoring have been explored as primary medical care alternatives, complemented with polysomnography to study mainly cases of apnea syndrome. However, polysomnography is expensive, both in implementing specialized infrastructure and carrying out the studies, invasive and not very accessible due to waiting times. Using current techniques in speech recognition, the acoustic analysis of snoring is of particular interest and shows promise as a medical alternative. In this work, an application of contemporary speech analysis techniques in the snoring signal, obtained without sedation of the patient, is proposed to determine its relationship with the site of obstruction that originates it that eventually could improve its treatment.