Sleep Testing
Before you can get the treatment you need for sleep apnea or snoring, you need to know exactly what’s going on when you sleep. That’s where sleep testing comes in.
At the Sleep Center at Georgetown ENT, we offer the most comprehensive evaluations possible for adults and children who may have a sleeping disorder.
Board-certified sleep medicine specialist Dr. Scott W. Franklin is also a board-certified ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeon – which makes him the ideal specialist to assess your needs. Dr. Franklin can evaluate you for possible nose or throat issues that may be causing your sleep problems, such as nasal polyps, a deviated septum, or enlarged tonsils or adenoids.
After an in-office evaluation that includes a physical examination and health history review, Dr. Franklin may suggest a sleep study – either an at-home sleep test or an overnight test in our fully accredited and comfortable sleep lab.
Sleep studies can provide critical information about your health while you’re asleep such as your oxygen intake, heart and breathing rates, eye movements, snoring, body movement, and blood circulation. Sleep studies can help doctors diagnose sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, sleepwalking, and more.
Results of these studies can help determine the best course of treatment for you – whether that is a CPAP or BiPAP machine, an oral appliance, an in-office minimally invasive procedure such as radiofrequency ablation, or outpatient surgery.
At-Home Sleep Tests
At the Sleep Center at Georgetown ENT, we offer our patients the convenience of in-home sleep testing.
The at-home sleep test is an abbreviated version of our overnight sleep lab test. We provide you with a device that will measure your oxygen intake, breathing pattern, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep. You will receive instructions on how to conduct the test in your home. Afterward, you simply return the device to our office and we download the recorded data for review and analysis.
If you have heart problems or significant breathing issues, your doctor may recommend a more comprehensive overnight sleep lab test.
Overnight Sleep Lab Tests
Overnight testing is done at the Sleep Center at Georgetown ENT sleep lab. Our facilities are designed with you in mind. We think you’ll find a stay at our sleep lab warm, inviting, and above all, comfortable. Your safety, security, and comfort during your overnight sleep test are very important to us.
We conduct an on-site sleep test, called polysomnography, in the sleep lab, which is set up to monitor what is happening in your brain and body while you sleep. None of the devices we use should hurt or even pierce your skin.
For example, we use a sensor to measure the oxygen level in your blood; no needles are involved at all. We use an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the electrical activity of your brain while you sleep, which involves placing sensors on your scalp. This helps us identify when and for how long you cycle through the different sleep stages, including REM sleep, so we can better understand your sleep pattern and where disruptions are occurring.
What to Expect
In most cases, you will be asked to arrive a few hours before your usual bedtime. You should bring whatever personal items you will need (toothbrush, medications, creams, or lotions) and you can sleep in your own pajamas.
Before you go to bed in a private room in our sleep lab, you will be fitted with sensors on your head and body, but nothing should feel restrictive or uncomfortable. You should be able to move freely and comfortably. You will be given time to relax, wind down, and get ready for sleep.
Our sleep medicine technologists will monitor the data being delivered by the sensors you’re wearing throughout the night. Someone will be available to help you if you need to get up to use the bathroom, for example. Even if you do not get a full night of sleep, we can typically obtain enough information to diagnose your condition.
Dr. Franklin then will analyze the information recorded from your overnight sleep study and discuss it with you during a follow-up office appointment.
Sleep Lab Testing in Georgetown, Texas
There are many ways to treat sleep disorders, but before you and Dr. Franklin decide on the best treatment for you, it’s important to understand what exactly is happening in your brain and body while you sleep. That’s why a thorough in-office ear, nose, and throat evaluation followed by a sleep study is recommended for most patients who suspect sleep apnea or other problems.
To get started, contact the Sleep Center at Georgetown ENT. Call (512) 869-0604 or request an appointment now to be evaluated by board-certified sleep medicine specialist and ENT surgeon Dr. Scott W. Franklin in Georgetown, Texas.
