I believe that for me, chronic hyperventilation was something I was doing- not necessarily the direct cause of the breathing issue, and that I had developed 'big' breathing habits overtime eventually leading to snoring and mouth breathing and then air hunger symptoms. I'm not sure of any cause/effect relationship, just that it probably contributed to my air hunger sensation.

Through my research years ago, I came across the Butyeko breathing method and took a course with practitioners on how to incorporate the method in every day life. This includes practicing nasal breathing through all activities including exercise, resisting the urge to take deep breaths whenever possible, and incorporating learned breathing exercises throughout the day. This has definitely helped the air hunger go way down, and for a few years even went away almost entirely. So it's still a journey to get the symptoms to go away completely, but I believe through the Buteyko method, walking, moderate weight lifting and just an overall health lifestyle, has kept the symptoms at bay.