Poll: What type of mask do you use?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.

What kind of mask do you use?

I use a nasal mask.
72
24%
I use a full face mask.
94
31%
I use nasal pillows.
117
38%
I use nasal prongs.
1
0%
I use a hybrid mask.
4
1%
I use a total face mask.
3
1%
I use an oral mask.
2
1%
I haven't found a mask that works well for me yet!
11
4%
 
Total votes: 304

Quickstrike
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by Quickstrike » Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:57 pm

49er wrote:
Quickstrike wrote:I haven't found one I've been able to use more than about a week at a time. It's always something that bothers me but usually a leak. I've tried a Wisp, Quattro Air, Simplus, Aloha, and Swift FX.
Quickstrike,

What about the Elan cloth nasal mask listed in my equipment profile? After having gone through what I call full face mask h-ll for several months, once I settled on this mask, I didn't use anything else. Never had any problems with leaks even prior to my recent septoplasty. Anxious for the surgeon to allow me to start wearing it again.

Good luck in finding something that works.

49er
That one has me curios because silicone seems to bother me. My favorite thus far is the Wisp but the headgear sucks. I'm trying the Swift FX now. I really liked the Aloha but the plastic on the heagear was terrible to lay on.

AfibApnea
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by AfibApnea » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:45 pm

Can you change your poll to also show all the masks one currently uses.

I use a nasal pillow mask (the most convenient and least obtrusive) and would like it to be my mask of choice. But after a night's use, it makes my nose hurt.

I use a nasal mask (the most comfortable mask) but find that after using it for a month find it develops leaks (not holes) that didn't seem to be there before (it's as if my face had changed).
PR S1 REMstar 60 Series BiPAP ASV Advanced & PR S1 with humidifier
Various Nasal masks or Nasal pillows
Software:

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Wulfman...
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by Wulfman... » Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:41 pm

AfibApnea wrote:Can you change your poll to also show all the masks one currently uses.

I use a nasal pillow mask (the most convenient and least obtrusive) and would like it to be my mask of choice. But after a night's use, it makes my nose hurt.

I use a nasal mask (the most comfortable mask) but find that after using it for a month find it develops leaks (not holes) that didn't seem to be there before (it's as if my face had changed).
Not without wiping out all the voting.


Den

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yaconsult
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by yaconsult » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:04 am

Wulfman is right - any changes to the poll reset it and all votes are lost. I did that shortly after I posted it because I didn't have all the mask types included, so I can confirm that all previous votes are lost when you change the poll. It makes sense, but it's unfortunate.

I have found the results very interesting as I had no idea what kind of distribution to expect. I'm in the largest group with nasal pillows.

I wonder how useful it might be to have some new surveys to find out the most popular masks within the three common types? I should look at cpap.com to get an idea of how many different makes and models there are to see if such a survey would be practical.

For example, I use the Breeze nasal pillows and if I decided to try something else, it would be useful to know which are the other most popular nasal pillow systems.

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Papit
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by Papit » Thu Apr 02, 2015 8:59 am

yaconsult wrote: I wonder how useful it might be to have some new surveys to find out the most popular masks within the three common types? I should look at cpap.com to get an idea of how many different makes and models there are to see if such a survey would be practical.

. . . if I decided to try something else, it would be useful to know which are the other most popular nasal pillow systems.
If you have the time, go ahead with it. I'd like to know too.

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The Latinist
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by The Latinist » Mon Apr 06, 2015 1:27 pm

yaconsult wrote:I wonder how useful it might be to have some new surveys to find out the most popular masks within the three common types? I should look at cpap.com to get an idea of how many different makes and models there are to see if such a survey would be practical.
You can get a pretty good idea by going to CPAP.com and browsing sorted by Top Sellers.

Nasal Pillows:

1. Swift FX
2. AirFit P10
3. Nuance/Nuance Pro
4. Opus 360
5. Breeze Sleepgear
6. Mirage Swift II

Full Face:

1. Airfit F10
2. ComfortFull 2
3. Mirage Quattro
4. ComfortGel Blue
5. Simplus

Nasal:

1. ComfortGel Blue Nasal
2. Profile Lite Gel
3. Wisp
4. SleepWeaver Advance
5. Comfort Classic Nasal

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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by yaconsult » Sat Apr 11, 2015 5:44 pm

I am in the process of preparing the mask survey with the great help of Pugsy. She did not think that the best sellers according to cpap.com were the masks used by most people. I had looked at their mask lists and sorted them in various ways. What I don't have is the experience many different mask types and brands that Pugsy has.

We have the information we need, now we're just figuring out the best way to do it within the limitation of this site's poll feature. I am envisioning three different polls for the three different mask types.

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LSAT
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by LSAT » Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:15 pm

I'm curious...The people that responded to this survey are telling what mask they are using. I assume they are using that mask because it works for them. What possible use is this survey? How does it help to know what % of people use different types of masks.? Because 40% of respondents use a pillow mask...how does that help me as a mouth breather? most people try various masks and pick the one that works for them regardless of any survey. IMO...A waste of time!

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Wulfman...
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by Wulfman... » Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:22 pm

LSAT wrote:I'm curious...The people that responded to this survey are telling what mask they are using. I assume they are using that mask because it works for them. What possible use is this survey? How does it help to know what % of people use different types of masks.? Because 40% of respondents use a pillow mask...how does that help me as a mouth breather? most people try various masks and pick the one that works for them regardless of any survey. IMO...A waste of time!
I've been kind of wondering about this (or variations), too.
Lots of people have multiple masks and may rotate them or use nasal masks on a more frequent basis and then use a full face mask if they have some type of nasal congestion or cold.
My "mask of choice" isn't even listed in the list that Latinist posted. But, two that I have, but don't use, are listed.

And, I agree.......just because it's a "best seller" doesn't mean that it's actually a GOOD mask to use.


Den

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(5) REMstar Autos w/C-Flex & (6) REMstar Pro 2 CPAPs w/C-Flex - Pressure Setting = 14 cm.
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AfibApnea
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by AfibApnea » Sat Apr 11, 2015 7:31 pm

I've found the poll interesting and useful.

Often, rather than just posting an answer to the poll question, folk explain why they use the mask they chose. And much of that information is useful. Also, there may be masks of a certain type that folk learn about in this thread.

Noticing that most people are satisfied with nasal pillows makes me try them again, and a little harder, to get them to work for me.

What's become annoying is that my nasal mask (my go-to mask when the pillows are bothering me) is consistently leaking at about 11 oclock and 1 oclock whenever my BiPAP ASV machine kicks in with an extra puff. It's especially annoying because I feel it very clearly in my left/right eye (respectively) even when they're closed.

What is it about masks that causes them to leak AFTER YOU'VE BEEN USING THEM FOR A WHILE?
PR S1 REMstar 60 Series BiPAP ASV Advanced & PR S1 with humidifier
Various Nasal masks or Nasal pillows
Software:

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Pugsy
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by Pugsy » Sat Apr 11, 2015 7:59 pm

AfibApnea wrote:What is it about masks that causes them to leak AFTER YOU'VE BEEN USING THEM FOR A WHILE?
Could be any number of things.

1...facial oil accumulation maybe
2...change in pressure (usually upwards) that makes it difficult to keep a good seal...why the pressure change? Perhaps REM stage sleep or someone ends up on their back and it isn't uncommon for people to need more pressure in REM and/or when sleeping on their backs to prevent Obstructive sleep apnea events.
Or maybe higher pressures because the machine is responding to centrals...since your machine will do that.

If you can see a repetitive pattern to all this you might compare that pattern with a normal hypnogram so see if the pattern correlates with a possible REM sleep stage.

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Pugsy
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by Pugsy » Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:07 pm

About creating another poll to see what masks are used...yeah, I suppose it won't accomplish any earth shattering event but it might be interesting to see just how the break down is within each category.
The "top seller" thing at cpap.com shows a couple of masks being ahead of a couple of masks that I know those masks are used more. Some of those masks that are still in the "top seller" category are there because they simply have been around a long time so the purchase history is greater/longer and thus we would expect that those old masks still have a substantial chunk of the pie...
New masks that haven't been around as long simply haven't had a chance to earn much of that pie.

Besides...most polls don't really mean all that much in the grand scheme of things but sometimes the results are interesting anyway and the discussions are often informative and if it helps one person with something...it's worth it.

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simplej
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by simplej » Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:30 am

I'm surprised so many people actually use nasal masks. I think nasal mask is insufficient, since during sleep you may open your mouth and pressure is lost. Or if you're temperature sensitive, you get nasal blokage if the room temperature is too low and simply have to breath through your mouth.

I was surprised most of masks cost around 200$ which is a big rip off.

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49er
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by 49er » Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:55 am

simplej wrote:I'm surprised so many people actually use nasal masks. I think nasal mask is insufficient, since during sleep you may open your mouth and pressure is lost. Or if you're temperature sensitive, you get nasal blokage if the room temperature is too low and simply have to breath through your mouth.

I was surprised most of masks cost around 200$ which is a big rip off.
As a newcomer, you might want to research the archives before writing posts like above that are totally inaccurate. The issue is that nasal masks can work quite well if fitted appropriately and the person can breath through their nose without opening their mouth and losing therapy. But even if they open their mouth at some point during the night, as long as it is only for a short amount of time, they can still receive effective therapy. Now if someone can't keep their mouth closed when wearing nasal/nasal pillow mask for most of the night no matter what they try such as taping, using a chin strap, etc., then yes, a full face mask is then required. But again, the issue isn't that nasal masks are inefficient as they are definitely are not when the right person is wearing them.

49er

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Poll: What type of mask do you use?

Post by chunkyfrog » Sun Apr 12, 2015 9:17 am

@ simplej:
The $200 price you quote is typical of local DME's and national chains, but online sellers,
such as cpap.com (the sponsors of this forum) have much more reasonable numbers,
especially the nasal and nasal pillow masks of which you have been crudely misinformed.

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