A new acoustic method of differentiating palatal from non-palatal snoring.

Palatal snoring produces explosive peaks of sound at very low frequency (approximately 20 Hz). Using a digital sound trace a ratio of peak amplitude to root mean square amplitude can be calculated. This Peak Factor Ratio is significantly higher for palatal snores than non-palatal snores (P < 0.01). This acoustic method will be useful for selecting patients for palatal surgery as it is non-invasive and could be used in a home monitor.