Respironics Nuance Pro/Nuance Mask Review

[KentuckyHoser]

I'm normally not fond of drudging up months old topics, but I felt I needed to put my two cents in on this one.

Disclaimer: I have nothing to compare this mask to other than the Swift FX used during my study.

...and I probably never will have. It took me a little while to figure out that I needed the small pillows and not the medium, that the fit didn't have to look exactly like it did in the pictures and that tighter is not always better. Now that I've crossed those hurdles, I love both the Nuance and the Nuance Pro. I have both frames/headgear and they are equally comfortable. I think the Nuance will be better in warmer weather. I'm only a few short weeks into this and when I go to bed at night, my mask 'disappears' within ten minutes. I literally do not know it's there all night long, even with much turning over and burying my face in the pillow. I feel extremely fortunate to have tried this mask first. I believe it will be my last until it's no longer made. YMMV, but I love this thing.

[chunkyfrog]

I'm envious, my Nuance pro is remarkably comfortable as well, but notoriously unstable,
with leak rates through the roof.
The headgear is not quite right for my little head. The frog must sew.

[KentuckyHoser]

What size pills are you using Chunky? I thought for sure I'd be a large. Nope, leaked like crazy from the top of one nare without even moving. At first I thought, I can't go bigger than this! I'm now down to the small. I've found that if that little cone guide is too big, it will not seal. It'll feel fine, but the gel won't seal under your nose. The medium only leaked here and there from the same spot when I moved wrong. With the small I'm getting almost flat leak lines and what leaks I do have I don't notice at all.

Edit: I was sort of between a medium and a large on the Swift FX. We used a medium the night of my study because the large hurt, but the medium didn't stay sealed without me fiddling with it whenever I turned over.

[redsleep]

I've been trying these new pillows for about a week now - measure spo2 readings, and they've been outstanding - until last night. I think the pillows are fine, seal well, etc. but the mask itself, being material, stretches too easily - my dme told me I should soak the material parts in HOT water, so they'll dry tighter, and I might get a couple months out of mask. But pretty much, this product is good but designed so that you need to purchase the headgear/mask every 3 months at about $180 - whereas with my resmed swift pillows, I only replace the pillows every six weeks. Will keep trying with the nuance, and want to like it. Comfortable, and as everyone says, not so tight is better...

[SleepyEyes21]

I was happy to find and read through all the posts on this thread, as I am using a Nuance also and really like it. I have only been using cpap for about 2 weeks, and am fortunate to have had both the Swift FX and the Nuance to try from the start (thanks to Pugsy! )

I am leaning toward the Nuance as my preferred 'mask of choice' now, with the FX being a close 2nd runner-up. This mask is so comfortable that sometimes when I wake up and am just breathing peacefully, I have to think about whether or not I still have the mask on ( I find this incredible, given all of the difficulties that many people have had with masks.) Pugsy - I agree with your earlier post that the Nuance is likely an excellent choice for a newbie!

The Nuance back strap 'works' for me and I have also found to tighten the pillow seal, all I have to do is push the back strap down a bit over the back crown of my head, toward the nape of my neck. Has anyone else found this helpful? I do understand the back strap can move too much for some; I sleep on my back mostly and don't move much, so this is probably why I feel the Nuance works well for me.

Realistically, I don't think any manufacturer can make one mask that works for all, even if they have gender versions of it. Everybody has different shaped heads/ faces and preferences; a good manufacturer most likely designs masks to be adjusted to a certain number of specs, but one design cannot possibly encompass all sizes/ preferences.
I'm with Carrie though- pink & purple colors would be fun, just for the heck of it

Question here: does it matter which direction you put nasal pillow masks on? For example, I noticed the 'X2' on the bottom of the pillow for the Nuance, so put the mask on with this side under my nose. But does this matter with nasal pillows?

Also - what does "resistance control" mean, and what would setting it on my machine with the Nuance do for me? Would I have to turn the resistance control on my machine off if I switched to a non-Respironics mask?

Thanks to all for the great reviews and information

[Pugsy]

Question here: does it matter which direction you put nasal pillow masks on? For example, I noticed the 'X2' on the bottom of the pillow for the Nuance, so put the mask on with this side under my nose. But does this matter with nasal pillows?

Yes it matters. The resistance control number goes on the bottom closest to the lip and not the nostril.
All nasal pillows need to have the nasal pillows forming this shape when going into the nostrils when you look at it.../ \ / \ with the top narrow area in the top of the nostril. Think how your nostrils are shaped.
You can watch the video
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/nuance ... onics.html
If the number is up against the nostrils then it's upside down. Same with any nasal pillow mack.

Resistance control isn't a critical setting. I always just left mine off no matter what mask brand I used. I did test the various settings to see if I could tell if it did anything but I couldn't tell it did anything. IMHO more fluff than anything else.

[SleepyEyes21]

Question here: does it matter which direction you put nasal pillow masks on? For example, I noticed the 'X2' on the bottom of the pillow for the Nuance, so put the mask on with this side under my nose. But does this matter with nasal pillows?

Yes it matters. The resistance control number goes on the bottom closest to the lip and not the nostril.
All nasal pillows need to have the nasal pillows forming this shape when going into the nostrils when you look at it.../ \ / \ with the top narrow area in the top of the nostril. Think how your nostrils are shaped.
You can watch the video
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/nuance ... onics.html
If the number is up against the nostrils then it's upside down. Same with any nasal pillow mack.

Resistance control isn't a critical setting. I always just left mine off no matter what mask brand I used. I did test the various settings to see if I could tell if it did anything but I couldn't tell it did anything. IMHO more fluff than anything else.

Thanks for all of your expertise, Pugsy - greatly appreciated