37- year old Ken Harris' snoring is off the charts. His wife Elizabeth blames the condition for years of sleepless nights.
"I probably wake up once or twice every night," said Elizabeth.
The Harris', like most couples dealing with a partner that snores, are desperate to try anything that would stop ken from "rattling the walls".
"Introducing Pure Sleep. The stop snoring solution," claimed the company's commercial.
"Wow wouldn't that be great if that worked," added Elizabeth.
At a cost of $65, Pure Sleep says it will reduce or eliminate snoring.
The device claimed to work by holding the jaw slightly forward, opening the airway so the snoring stops. Ken says he's more than willing to give Pure Sleep a shot and get some rest.
His snoring has caused him to be sleepy during the day, lose energy, and even at times nod off at the wheel.
Action News checked back in with the Harris' after a week.
"His snoring changed. Like it was rattling the walls before then it was like a purr almost like a cat," said Elizabeth.
"I have noticed I'm not quite as tired, I get up easier, I'm not as sleepy at work," said Ken Harris.
We took the Pure Sleep to Dr. Stephen Akers, a sleep specialist with Cooper University Hospital.
Dr. Akers told Action News he's surprised by the results Ken saw using the Pure Sleep device.
I'm a little bit surprised and I suspect that Mr. Harris is someone who had the best possible results from it," said Dr. Akers.
"It's quite possible many people will not have the same response he had so I think people need to be prepared for that," he added. Dr. Akers says that his major concern with the device, is that if people use it, and snoring subsides, they might assume everything is o.k. But in fact, snoring can be a sign of a much more serious medical problem called sleep apnea.
"The apnea may not be treated by the oral device alone and that's a major concern"
After evaluating Ken, and based on the fact that his wife says he stops and starts breathing several times throughout the night, he believes Ken isn't just a snorer but also may have sleep apnea.
"It could be dangerous it's not the sort of thing that is life threatening that people are likely to die in their sleep from but it does have many potential health problems," added Dr. Akers.
As for the Harris' they'll follow up with Dr. Akers, but they're thankful to be resting sounder together.
"I was desperate, I was desperate to try anything," said Elizabeth.
Sleep apnea is a serious condition and Dr. Akers says snoring is a sign of this condition. And although the Pure Sleep may help some snorers it will not help treat sleep apnea.
Ken did have a few side effects with the Pure Sleep. He experienced slight jaw pain in the first few nights of wear and also had some minor irritation on his gums.
Dr. Akers advices people considering any oral appliance to see their dentist.
