Sleep Apnoea Treatment Options in Australia

Quick answer: There is more than one way to treat sleep apnoea in Australia, and the right one depends on what your sleep study shows. CPAP is the usual first-line treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea, while mandibular advancement splints, positional therapy, weight and lifestyle measures, and surgery all have their place in selected cases. Treatment is prescribed on severity and physiology, never on symptoms alone.

Why treatment starts with the sleep study

Two people can both complain of tired, unrefreshing sleep and end up on completely different treatments. That is because sleep apnoea is not one condition but a spectrum. A sleep study counts how often your airway partially or fully blocks, how far your oxygen dips, how your heart rate responds, and whether your breathing effort continues during events. Those numbers — the severity and the pattern — are what a sleep physician works from.

A person with a few dozen mild events a night needs different treatment to someone whose oxygen drops dozens of times an hour. The pattern matters too: events clustered on your back point one way, events driven by a narrow nose or large tonsils point another. If you have not yet been tested, our sleep study near me page covers the testing options. Only after the results do treatment choices make sense.

CPAP: the first line for moderate to severe apnoea

For moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnoea, CPAP is the standard first treatment in Australia: a pump delivers continual gentle air pressure through a mask, holding the airway open all night. It is effective, it starts working immediately, and it requires no surgery. If you are new to it, read our plain-English explainer, what is CPAP.

CPAP suits people whose apnoea is frequent or severe, whose oxygen dips are significant, or who have tried other measures without success. Its main challenge is not effectiveness but persistence: masks take adjusting, and some people struggle with the sensation. A well-fitted mask plus early follow-up reviews resolve most of those problems, which is why physicians schedule them.

Mandibular advancement splints

A mandibular advancement splint is a dental appliance worn at night that holds your lower jaw — and with it, your tongue — slightly forward. That widens the space behind the tongue and makes the airway less likely to sag shut. It is often called oral appliance therapy, and in Australia it is usually fitted by a dentist in a prescription or physician-coordinated pathway.

Oral appliances suit people with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnoea, and they are also a common choice for those with more severe apnoea who have genuinely tried CPAP and cannot tolerate it. They are quiet, small enough to travel well, and familiar to anyone who has worn a dental guard. Their limits are real though: they move less air than CPAP in severe cases, and they need ongoing dental review to monitor jaw and bite changes. We compare the two approaches in detail in oral appliance therapy versus CPAP.

Positional therapy

Some people's apnoea is mostly positional — the airway blocks when they sleep on their back and opens when they roll to their side. If the sleep study shows that pattern, positional therapy is a real option. Modern versions range from vibrating devices worn behind the neck that buzz you gently toward your side, through to simple tactics like sewing a pocket into the back of pyjamas.

It is simple, drug-free and non-invasive, and for back-dominant apnoea it can be enough on its own. It is less useful for people whose apnoea happens in every position, which the sleep study will show clearly. Ask your sleep specialist whether positional therapy alone would be enough, or is best combined with another treatment.

Weight, lifestyle and sleep habits

Excess weight is one of the strongest drivers of obstructive sleep apnoea, because tissue around the neck narrows the airway and obesity changes breathing control overnight. Even a modest reduction in weight, sustained over time, lowers the frequency and severity of apnoea events for many people — though it rarely cures moderate to severe apnoea entirely.

Other lifestyle measures that help: limit alcohol, especially before bed, because it relaxes the throat muscles further. Quit smoking, which irritates and inflames the airway. Keep regular sleep hours, and sleep on your side rather than your back.

These measures are valuable as treatment and as prevention, but they work best alongside a physical therapy like CPAP or an oral appliance, not as a substitute for one when the sleep study shows at least moderate severity.

Surgery: when is it considered?

Surgery is not a first-line treatment for most people, but it has a defined place. An ENT — ear, nose and throat — specialist assesses whether there is a specific, correctable site of blockage. Possibilities include removing enlarged tonsils and adenoids (tonsillectomy in selected cases, more often in children and younger adults), straightening a deviated nasal septum or reducing nasal polyps so that air flows better, and, in carefully selected cases, procedures that stiffen or reposition soft tissue at the back of the throat.

None of these are standard for everyone with apnoea. They suit people with an identifiable anatomical problem that other treatments cannot overcome — for example, a nose so blocked that CPAP becomes unbearable. Surgery can also be part of a plan for people who cannot tolerate any mask or appliance.

Weight loss surgery is a separate pathway: for some people with severe obesity and severe apnoea, a sleep physician may refer them to discuss bariatric options, because sustained major weight loss can substantially reduce apnoea. That decision belongs with a physician or bariatric team, not with a supplier or an online calculator.

Related: find a specialist through our sleep doctor near me page.

Central sleep apnoea is treated differently

Everything above addresses obstructive apnoea, where the airway blocks. Central sleep apnoea is different: the brain intermittently stops sending the signal to breathe, and the airway is not the problem. CPAP alone often does not help and can occasionally worsen it.

Treatment is physician-led and depends on the underlying cause — heart failure, high-altitude exposure, certain medications, or a stroke history. Machines that deliver bilevel pressure, or adaptive servo-ventilation, may be prescribed in particular patterns of central apnoea; these are described and chosen by a sleep specialist based on the sleep study rather than bought over the counter. If your study suggests a central component, expect your physician to explain the plan step by step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is surgery a good option for sleep apnoea?

Surgery helps a specific group of people, mostly those with a clear anatomical cause such as enlarged tonsils, a badly deviated septum or chronically blocked nasal passages. For most adults with moderate to severe apnoea, CPAP or an oral appliance treats the problem more reliably and with less risk. An ENT assessment, and ideally a fresh sleep study, should come well before any decision to operate.

Can I treat sleep apnoea without a machine?

Sometimes yes, for mild cases. An oral mandibular advancement splint, positional therapy for people whose events happen only on their back, and weight plus lifestyle measures all work for the right patient. For moderate to severe apnoea, though, these measures reduce rather than resolve events, and a physician will usually recommend CPAP first. Decide based on your sleep study, not on preference alone.

Does losing weight cure sleep apnoea?

Weight loss reduces the severity of obstructive sleep apnoea for many people and can bring mild apnoea down to a level where treatment is no longer needed. It rarely cures severe apnoea on its own, because airway anatomy, jaw position and throat muscle behaviour all contribute alongside weight. Treat weight as an important supporting measure that may eventually change your prescription, with your physician monitoring progress on repeat testing.

How do I know which treatment I need?

You do not have to guess. Your sleep study shows how severe your apnoea is and what pattern it follows — full apnoeas, partial blockages, which positions trigger events, and how oxygen dips. A sleep physician reads that data alongside your symptoms, weight, anatomy and preferences, then prescribes accordingly. If you do not have a diagnosis yet, ask your GP for a referral to a sleep specialist.