Ear Ache in the Morning

Hello all:

Hope someone might help answer a question for a newbie. Have been using CPAP for about 30 days and have had all the usual adjustment issues. This morning I woke up with a painful ache in my right ear. I removed the head gear and chin strap and after about 30 minutes the pain went away. Ear pain unrelated to something stupid that I have done to myself, is unusual. I'm not prone to sinus or ear infections.

We live in an area where evaporative cooling works and the added benefit is added humidity inside the house while we sleep. As a result, I have not seen the need to use the humidifier attached to the CPAP. Nose does not feel overly dry or runny in the morning.

Still waiting on the DME to provide a new APAP machine so I'm currently using a fixed pressure CPAP set at 8.5 . The mask for the last month is a Pilario Q nasal pillows mask.

The one change is the use of a different chin strap starting two nights ago. Occasionally I noticed air blowing out my mouth during the night using the chin strap that essentially cupped under my chin and circled over the crown of my head. This arrangement gradually forced my jaw rearward and effectively loosened itself during the night. As stated above, I started using a 3" wide elastic strap under my chin and around the top of my head a couple nights ago. My provider calls this the deluxe 2 chin strap. It does a much better job of securing my mouth closed but also does exert more pressure on my ears and neck.

My ears are currently both clear and hearing is normal in each.

So...one mornings ear ache experience. Anyone have some idea what caused this?

I am thinking the different chin strap causing pressure on a nerve or TMJ kind of stress which often manifests itself in ear pain.

Hopefully your earache was a one-off, but if it comes back and endures please send me a PM and I'll update this thread and you regarding my earaches and what I did to cut them down. It's a long story and boring for anybody not suffering from them. SNO