But studies show that the person with sleep apnea is not the only one waking up. When the apnea is accompanied by loud snorts and snoring, the bed partner may wake up as often during the night as the person with the actual sleep disorder. One study from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, found that spouses of snorers woke up, at least partially, an average of 21 times an hour, nearly as often as the 27 times the snorers were awakened by their apnea episodes.

In a 2005 study from Finland of 37 male snorers and their wives, half the women reported being disturbed by snoring every night.

In a 2003 study published in Chest, doctors from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, tracked the spouses of 54 patients with sleep apnea. Once the sleep apnea and snoring were treated, the spouses’ quality-of-life scores surged more than those who received the actual treatment. And treating apnea also improved sleepiness scores among the spouses by 20 per cent.

Second-hand snoring also may take a toll on hearing. In a pilot study of just four snorers in Kingston, Ontario, all the patients had slept next to a snorer for at least 15 years. The study showed the bed partners had significant noise-induced hearing loss in the one ear that was most exposed to the snoring.

Solutions are difficult.

One study found that earplugs can be a simple and effective treatment, but for some, especially parents of young children, these are not a practical option.

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