An acoustic screening test for obstructive sleep apnoea

Abstract

Third-octave sound analysis was performed on the snoring sounds of nine subjects with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and 18 with simple snoring. Both groups demonstrated a large low frequency peak in linear sound levels at around 80 Hz. However, the OSA group displayed a substantially larger high frequency sound component. We utilized this fact in the development of an acoustic index (Hawke Index: HI) which describes the ratio between the overall A-weighted and linear sound levels for the recorded snoring sound of each subject [HI = dB(A)/dB(SPL) for Lmax]. There was a significant positive correlation between the apnoea/hypopnoea index and the HI (r = 0.73, t = 5.3, 25df, P < 0.001). If a value of 0.90 or greater was taken as diagnostic of OSA, the HI exhibited 67% sensitivity, 100% specificity, 100% positive and 86% negative predictive accuracy. With further development, we believe this acoustic phenomena may have a role as a screening test in the diagnosis of OSA.

Acoustic Analysis of Snoring Sounds by a Multidimensional Voice Program

“…In keeping with our results, some authors reported that the acoustic characteristics of natural snores of nonapneic/simple snoring subjects and those of patients with OSAS were different. [1][2][3][4] Furthermore, some authors reported that acoustic analysis of snoring sounds is useful for identification of the snoring site. 1,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Quinn et al 9 and Fig.…”

“…The gold standard for OSAS diagnosis is conventional polysomnography (PSG). However, recent studies suggest that acoustic characteristics of snoring sound may differ between simple snorers and patients with OSAS 1–4 and may be useful for differentiating between these groups. Some authors suggest that not only differential diagnosis, but also detection of the snoring site can be accomplished by sound analysis 1,5–11 …”

Breathing and Snoring Sound Characteristics during Sleep in Adults

“…It was found that the ratio of power above 800 Hz to power below 800 Hz could be used to separate snorers from patients with OSA -the OSA snorers had higher frequencies. McCombe et al 43 demonstrated that the OSA group displayed a substantially larger high frequency sound component than the non-OSA group. In another study Herzog et al 44 found that patients with primary snoring revealed peak intensities between 100 and 300 Hz.…”

An efficient method for snore/nonsnore classification of sleep sounds

“…Sola-Soler et al (2003) studied the differences in spectral envelopes of simple and OSAS snores and suggested the standard deviation of formant frequencies as a criterion for distinction among simple snores and OSAS snores. McCombe et al (1995) introduced a measure of high frequency content (Hawke Index) for screening OSAS.…”