AHI Vs Mask Leaks – Which one ?

[Munchausen]

Fairly new to Sleep Apnea , so this is a newbie question .

I have OSCAR installed on my computer and Ive been trying out several masks , and Ive noticed that OSCAR some times shows the mask as having some small continuous air leaks ( see attached report ) .

But also at the same time the OSCAR report for the same mask shows a low AHI number.

So which OSCAR report number is more important , the air leak or the AHI . Do those OSCAR numbers shown in the report actually mean that I could wear a mask that shows some small continuous air leaks leaks , but the AHI number is low, and wearing that mask would be ok .

Thanks.

Link below

https://imgbox.com/n78Zv58O

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[zonker]

Fairly new to Sleep Apnea , so this is a newbie question .

I have OSCAR installed on my computer and Ive been trying out several masks , and Ive noticed that OSCAR some times shows the mask as having some small continuous air leaks ( see attached report ) .

the key word in that sentence is "small"; 0.05%. it's not worth worrying about at all.

as long as those small leaks aren't waking you up, you're golden.

just btw, we know you're new as we can see the date of your joining the forum. so it's cool.

[Pugsy]

The persistent baseline leak above the 0.0 leak line could mean a small hole somewhere in something.
I had a leak line like that a while back and my hose had a very small hole in it that was only found when I filled the hose with water. I never could feel the air leaking but the water leaking showed the water leak at the hole in the hose.

Now sometimes the machine doesn't quite get it right in terms of calculations of the leak with some masks and I never could figure out why but I have seen that on occasion as well.

But to the question of whether it matters much or not in terms of the AHI....as long as you don't see the leak line going above 30 to 35 L/min for a prolonged amount of time your nice low AHI is going to be accurate and as long as you are sleeping through the leaks and feeling good then I wouldn't worry about that small amount of leak if it were me.
These machines are accurate in terms of reporting until people get into large leak territory for long periods of time.
From my own personal experience...up to around 35 L/min excess leak the machine can record and respond to whatever is going on fairly well. Above that and all bets are off.

You can fix that leak graph so you can see the leak better.
Hover your mouse cursor over the words "leak rate" on the graph and right click the mouse and play around with the choices you can make and you can make the upper limit not be 120 L/min.
I think it might be the Y Axis choice...change it to auto fill.
I forget exactly which choice needs to be made.

[Munchausen]

Fairly new to Sleep Apnea , so this is a newbie question .

I have OSCAR installed on my computer and Ive been trying out several masks , and Ive noticed that OSCAR some times shows the mask as having some small continuous air leaks ( see attached report ) .

the key word in that sentence is "small"; 0.05%. it's not worth worrying about at all.

as long as those small leaks aren't waking you up, you're golden.

just btw, we know you're new as we can see the date of your joining the forum. so it's cool.

Thanks for your advice , I've have a few more questions that are playing on my mind , so like Arnold Schwarzenegger once said ... i'll be back

[Munchausen]

The persistent baseline leak above the 0.0 leak line could mean a small hole somewhere in something.
I had a leak line like that a while back and my hose had a very small hole in it that was only found when I filled the hose with water. I never could feel the air leaking but the water leaking showed the water leak at the hole in the hose.

Now sometimes the machine doesn't quite get it right in terms of calculations of the leak with some masks and I never could figure out why but I have seen that on occasion as well.

But to the question of whether it matters much or not in terms of the AHI....as long as you don't see the leak line going above 30 to 35 L/min for a prolonged amount of time your nice low AHI is going to be accurate and as long as you are sleeping through the leaks and feeling good then I wouldn't worry about that small amount of leak if it were me.
These machines are accurate in terms of reporting until people get into large leak territory for long periods of time.
From my own personal experience...up to around 35 L/min excess leak the machine can record and respond to whatever is going on fairly well. Above that and all bets are off.

You can fix that leak graph so you can see the leak better.
Hover your mouse cursor over the words "leak rate" on the graph and right click the mouse and play around with the choices you can make and you can make the upper limit not be 120 L/min.
I think it might be the Y Axis choice...change it to auto fill.
I forget exactly which choice needs to be made.

Many Thanks, I've had a play around with the settings you suggested ( see attachment ) . And your advice is very useful .

https://imgbox.com/4FKBIfGE

Link above

[zonker]

Thanks for your advice , I've have a few more questions that are playing on my mind , so like Arnold Schwarzenegger once said ... i'll be back

that might work best if you start a catch-all thread like Munchausen's therapy thread and ask questions there. particularly if you are going to ask questions pertaining to your therapy. that way, folk can keep track of what you have and haven't done.

good luck!

[Munchausen]

Thanks for your advice , I've have a few more questions that are playing on my mind , so like Arnold Schwarzenegger once said ... i'll be back

that might work best if you start a catch-all thread like Munchausen's therapy thread and ask questions there. particularly if you are going to ask questions pertaining to your therapy. that way, folk can keep track of what you have and haven't done.

good luck!

Thanks I love the ....Munchausen's therapy thread .

[Julie]

But if the small leaks bother you, you could try mask 'liners' such as those from Padacheek.com.

[RogerSC]

Also have mask leaks here. My leak number goes from about 6 - 16 typically, averaging about 10, depending on how much I toss and turn. I'm using the N30, a nasal cradle mask, and I'm a side sleeper. So the mask gets pushed around a lot overnight. The leaks don't wake me up, and I'm around my usual AHI numbers with those leaks, so I've come to terms with not having the best leak numbers. I was using the Dreamwear nasal mask, and definitely don't miss the massiveness and weight of it, along with the stream of air out of the nasal area *smile*. While I had lower leak numbers with the Dreamwear, I'm happy with the tradeoff with the lighter, quieter N30 for more leaks since they don't wake me up or raise my AHI.

Anyways, if the leaks don't wake you up, and they're in the "good therapy" leak range (<24 for ResMed) as well as not raising your AHI, then just go with it to be using a more comfortable mask. My opinion, worth every cent you paid for it *smile*.