英语听力文摘 English Digest 352、尴尬的鼾声（在线收听）

Snoring can be pretty disturbing to people who sleep in the company of snorers, as well as to the snorer himself or herself, though she may not realize it. For instance, some snorers have a condition called obstructive sleep apnea. Their airways become obstructed various times while they’re sleeping, and each time this happens the snorerbriefly stops breathing.

What’s more, obstructive sleep apnea has been shown to affect the cognitive abilities and behavior of children with the condition. They demonstrate difficulties with language and attentiveness, and they score lower on overall tests of intelligence.

Until now it has not been known whether children who snore, but do not have obstructive sleep apnea, are at risk, too, for these cognitive and behavioral problems. However, recent research shows that many children without this particular condition, but who nonetheless snore, do test significantly lower than do non-snorers in these same areas of cognition and behavior. Which children who snore are at risk and which are not is not clear yet and will require further research.

In the meantime, if your child snores frequently and he or she seems to experience learning and/or behavioral problems, you might consult a sleep specialist to find out whether or not your child has obstructive sleep apnea. There are various causes of frequent snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, but the most common causes are enlarged tonsils and an enlarged adenoids. In these cases the removal of the tonsils or adenoids can be an effective treatment.

在鼾声中，彻夜难眠，然而打鼾对于打鼾者自己也有始料未及的困扰。比如，有些人患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症。睡觉时，他们的呼吸道时而受阻，而患者也暂时停止呼吸。

更糟糕的是，阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症会影响患者的认知能力和儿童行为能力。据显示，儿童语言沟通有障碍，注意力不易集中，整体智力测试得分更低。

至今我们尚不知打鼾的儿童（未患阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症）是否也有认知和行为问题。但是，最新研究显示，相比不打鼾的儿童而言，一些未患阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症而打鼾的儿童在同领域认知和行为能力确实略逊一筹。而研究结果是否是普遍现象尚待进一步研究。

如果你的孩子经常打鼾，同时成绩不佳，有行为问题，最好咨询睡眠专家诊断是否患有阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症。造成经常打鼾和阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合症的原因很多。而普遍因素是扁桃体和腺样体肿大，扁桃体切除和 (或 )腺样体刮除是治疗的有效方法。