Review of Sleep Polysomnography (Snoring Test) at Nowon Hana ENT Clinic

One day, my wife started saying more and more often that she couldn’t sleep because of my snoring.

I also began waking up frequently at night, and once I started feeling unbearably sleepy during the day, I realized how serious the snoring problem was.

So I decided to get a sleep polysomnography test.

1. Location

It’s located right in front of Exit 6 of Nowon Station on Line 7.

Since it’s easy to walk there, I just took the subway.

2. First consultation

I didn’t really think much of the first visit, so I don’t have any photos.

They looked inside my nose and took a CT scan to check for a deviated septum and measure the width of my airway.

In my case, I have a deviated septum, so when I lie down, blood pools, the mucous membrane swells up, and it becomes hard to breathe.

Then when I sleep, I end up breathing through my mouth, which leads to snoring.

In the end, I made a reservation for a sleep polysomnography test and left.

3. On the day of the sleep polysomnography

They told me not to have coffee or alcohol on the day of the test.

But I couldn’t skip my lunchtime coffee, so I had one decaf.

Then I arrived at the hospital around 8 p.m.

I walked around the hospital and took some photos.

It felt strange wandering around an empty hospital by myself.

I also had a look around the sleep test center in the back.

I met a nurse who showed me to my room.

The space below is where I would be spending the night.

It’s basically just a tiny studio room.

Simple toiletries, towels, and a hair dryer were provided.

The bathroom had shampoo, body wash, and so on.

If you need to go straight to work in the morning, it’s a good idea to bring your own cleansing products.

Not knowing when I would fall asleep, I made sure to get the Wi‑Fi set up in advance.

Before I went to sleep, the nurse set up a bunch of equipment on me.

Sticking everything on and checking it all seemed to take more than 15 minutes.

Looking at myself like this, I really did look like a patient with some serious illness.

4. The next day

Maybe because it was dark, I fell asleep more easily than I expected.

Before leaving, I filled out an evaluation form about how I had slept that night and handed it in.

When the nurse woke me up, it was 4 a.m., and by the time I washed up and left the hospital, it was around 4:30 a.m.

They said I could stay longer, but I just couldn’t fall back asleep.

I wondered if I might at least be able to catch the subway, so I went to Line 4, but the first train was still a long way off.

So I ended up walking home.

5. Test results

The test results came out the very next day, so I went back to the hospital.

They recommend treatment if your apnea–hypopnea index is 15 or higher, and mine was 17.

Watching myself not breathe for more than 20 seconds while sleeping looked really strange.

In the end, I made a reservation for a CPAP titration test in mid‑February.

I’ll be sleeping at the hospital again to determine what level of CPAP pressure is appropriate.

There’s still a long way to go.

I’ll be back with a post about my CPAP titration test experience next time.