If you have loud snoring, morning headaches, memory problems and excessive daytime sleepiness, you may have a serious disorder called obstructive sleep apnea doctors. Seeking early diagnosis and treatment is essential. But knowing which doctor to turn to for help isn’t always easy.

Often, primary care physicians will be the first to recognize the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. They can perform a physical exam, ask questions about your health history and recommend tests. Your health care provider can also suggest changes to your lifestyle, such as losing weight, stopping smoking and treating nasal allergies if they are causing problems.

In some cases, the doctor will refer you to a specialist, such as a pulmonologist, who treats disorders of the lungs and respiratory system. Pulmonologists are familiar with obstructive sleep apnea, as well as other conditions that affect breathing like asthma. They can do a chest X-ray or pulmonary function test to assess your airways and throat.

The next step in diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea is a home or overnight polysomnogram, or sleep study. This is a monitoring device that records the brain waves, heart rate and breathing as you sleep. It’s the best way to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea because it allows doctors to see what happens when you are sleeping.

Once the results of these tests are available, your doctor will decide on a treatment plan. Mild cases of sleep apnea might be treated with lifestyle changes or using a device that delivers pressurized air into the nose or mouth. These are referred to as positive airway pressure devices, or PAP. Most types of these devices involve wearing a mask over your nose or mouth while you sleep. Some require a machine that sits on your bed or near you, and others use a mouthpiece that fits over your teeth.

For more severe cases of obstructive sleep apnea, your doctor might prescribe medications to reduce inflammation and enlarge the airways, or they might recommend surgery. In rare cases, a tracheostomy, in which the surgeon creates a new windpipe, might be necessary for those with very severe obstructive sleep apnea.

For those with central sleep apnea, which can be caused by the brain, a neurologist might be involved. Neurologists are experts in the ways the brain and nerves work. They can do a neurological assessment and test for a number of conditions that could cause central sleep apnea, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. They can also check how your nerves respond to stimulation by drugs, such as a muscle relaxant. They can also check for any physical abnormalities in the brain that could contribute to your condition. A physical exam, blood tests and a brain MRI might also be done to determine the cause of your sleep problem. In some cases, your health care team might even include a psychologist to address any emotional stress you may be dealing with.