mask noise in pillow

[timoteo]

I've been using cpap for a number of years now due to mild/moderate sleep apea. I started with a nose mask (covers the nose) and it leaked everywhere and drove me nuts. I switched to nasal pillows and adjusted to them pretty easily, EXCEPT...

I use a Phillips Nuance Pro Nasal Pillow Mask size XL and I am a side sleeper. I usually sleep on my right side on the right side of the bed and the cpap machine in on the bedside table on the right side of the bed. The hose goes across along the top of my pillow.

I find that the nasal pillow makes "breathing" noises that are echoed in my pillow. Maybe a "normal" person would be able to mentally tune out these noises but I'm the nervous, anxious
type and the noise annoys me. I have a whole host of possible ways to minimize or eliminate the noise - move the hose around, move my head on the pillow, turn the machine off and back on, take the mask off, turn the machine off, put the mask back on, turn the machine back on, etc, etc. It's trial and error and it can take a very long time to minimize the noise.

Has anyone had a similar experience? What have you done about it? I do not understand the source of the noise. It feels like the nasal pillows in both nostrils fit ok and don't noticeably leak. Do you think the right nostril pad isn't fitting quite right, leaking some, causing the "darth vader" breathing noises in my pillow? I've got to get these noises to cease or give up cpap.The noise keeps me up and I often don't get a full night's sleep. I want to go the the top floor of the highest building in town and throw the whole damn thing out the window!

Any suggestions?

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

Have you ever tried any other mask?

Which machine are you using?

The Darth Vadar noises are specific to just one mask type. Most of the time the darth vadar noises are what is termed conducted noise.
The breathing noises are conducted and amplified because of the hose laying on stuff.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=96295&p=892182&hili ... se#p892182

You might try hanging the hose overhead so it doesn't drape across the pillow and touch the bed pillow or mattress.
Lots of hose management systems out there to choose from or people even make their own.

[LSAT]

Maybe a hose lift system to keep the hose off the bedding.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/arden- ... vel-system

[timoteo]

My machine is a Respironics System One.

I haven't tried other nasal pillow masks but earlier on used a mask that covered my nose. That mask was horrible - it leaked like crazy around the edges and i tried everything to try to "fix" it. I finally decided the best fix was to toss it in the trash.

I didn't have the time or energy to rig up a hose hanger yesterday but did reroute the hose across my torso instead of across my pillow last night and Darth Vader did not visit me - my mask was wonderfully quiet! I'm going to keep it this was for awhile and see if it permanently vanquishes the evil mask spirits permanently.

It's sad that the "best" solution to sleep apnea is a pump, hose, and mask attached to your face that forces air down your throat!

[Pugsy]

Glad that Darth Vadar stayed away last night.
Hopefully he is forever vanquished to the edges of the Dark Side.

Oh...the machine doesn't force you to do anything....it really isn't even powerful enough to blow up a balloon at 20 cm.
But I know it can sure feel like it sometimes.
You still have to do your own breathing. It doesn't/can't breath for you unless you have one of those high dollar specialty machines that work like ventilators.

Conducted noise gets amplified by the bed mattress or bed pillow and sounds awful in the ears to people sensitive to it.
Figure out some way to always keep the hose off the bed so chances of amplification are greatly reduced.
What you are hearing is your own breathing along with a little bit of blower noise.
It would happen with just about any mask....some more than others.

[Muse-Inc]

I too am side sleeper. Occasionally, I turn my head towards the pillow and hear the vented air hitting the pillow. Drove me nuts. I cut a piece of microfleece to cover the top of the pillow. Because it covers most of the top side of the pillow, it doesn't shift around. And, it fixed the problem. Might try it, just cut the microfleece large enough to cover the area where the hose lies. With an extra layer, noise conduction might be eliminated or greatly reduced.

[chunkyfrog]

I got that noise a couple nights on vacation.
No idea what it was, but redoing all connections,
and clearing the hose of any contact with solid materials, did the trick.
Back at home, my hose hanger works like a charm.