Snore Index...?
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Masked Ranger
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2005 5:34 pm
- Location: Connecticut
Snore Index...?
Reading this site has given me a ton of great info but there doesn't seem much is said about snore index and how it relates to apnea. Encore gives me snores and snore index data... what does it mean?
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The snore index is very much like the HI or OAI. It gives you the number of times per hours that you snore. As I understand it, the REMstar considers snores to be apnea precursors and begins to raise the pressure accordingly if enough snores take place within a short period of time.
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"Who was that masked man?"
As a side note regarding my experience.
With a full face mask the machine showed almost continous snoring, huge snore index. And the machine tended to max out the pressure based on this.
With the Swift mask the snore index dropped to very low levels. And my pressure is more accurately controlled now.
With a full face mask the machine showed almost continous snoring, huge snore index. And the machine tended to max out the pressure based on this.
With the Swift mask the snore index dropped to very low levels. And my pressure is more accurately controlled now.
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neversleeps
- Posts: 1141
- Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2005 7:06 pm
- Location: Minnesota
Here's an interesting thread in which derek did some experiments with the snore index:
Experiments on RemStar Snore Detection...
Experiments on RemStar Snore Detection...
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Masked Ranger
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2005 5:34 pm
- Location: Connecticut
Ok... now I'm really confused. My snore index has always been very high with actual snore recorded in the 200 range, yet my AHI is averaging in the 2.5 range at a pressure bi-pap setting of 10/15. If snores (restricting the air way) are a precursor to apnea, I would assume my AHI number should be higher. I changed my setting to 13/17 and snore index dropped to zero yet my AHI numbers remaing the same. I would assume that reducing the snore index should reduce the OAI and AHI. What's going on?
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Sleepless on LI
- Posts: 3997
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
MM,
Just a stab at this here. I would think if you have a soft palate that is truly soft and was the cause for your SDB, then still snoring could be considered a problem because it means that you are still have a problem with the soft palate. But if your snoring had nothing at all to do with whatever anatomical reason you have OSA/SDB, then it wouldn't matter much, at least to the snorer. I wouldn't say the same for the snoree (spouse, etc.).
When I was getting great AHI's, I once posted something about having a snore index only on auto and not on cpap and was told not to worry about it at all. If you are having such a low AHI, why worry? It means your machine is doing what it's supposed to do, no? But I'm no doctor and am just offering my thoughts on the subject.
Just a stab at this here. I would think if you have a soft palate that is truly soft and was the cause for your SDB, then still snoring could be considered a problem because it means that you are still have a problem with the soft palate. But if your snoring had nothing at all to do with whatever anatomical reason you have OSA/SDB, then it wouldn't matter much, at least to the snorer. I wouldn't say the same for the snoree (spouse, etc.).
When I was getting great AHI's, I once posted something about having a snore index only on auto and not on cpap and was told not to worry about it at all. If you are having such a low AHI, why worry? It means your machine is doing what it's supposed to do, no? But I'm no doctor and am just offering my thoughts on the subject.
L o R i
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Guest
Sleepless,
Interesting food for thought... the higher pressures (14/17) don't seem to change my HI/AI numbers significantly. The only real difference I can see is the snore number reduced to zero which might prove out your soft palette theory. Tolerating the higher pressures isn't a problem either aside from some minor mask leakage that I have to fool around with. To take this one step further... I've connected in a pressure transmitter and data logger to the mask hose. Playing back the nightly pressure trends (breathing cycles) with the lower titrated pressure settings (10/15), shows a "residual" snoring pattern at the end of the exhale cycle. Rather than a "primary" snore at the beginning of the inhale cycle. This tells me the Epap setting might be too low. Think of it like this... blow up a balloon and let it go. The excaping air noise (snoring like sound) through the balloon's (lungs) soft rubber hose (soft palette airway) is caused by a pressure differential that collapses the balloon's open ended hose. It's a basic flow physics balancing act. My theory (I'm not a doctor) is if the snore event occurred on the inhale part of the breathing cycle then the Ipap pressure is too low. The balloon in reverse. The higher setting (14/17) eliminated the large pressure differential that 10/15 caused. My AHI numbers really didn't change between the two pressure setting because I suspect the calculated OAI and HI numbers are based on inhale pressure & flow. This presents a good argument for using CPAP instead of Bi-PAP.
Interesting food for thought... the higher pressures (14/17) don't seem to change my HI/AI numbers significantly. The only real difference I can see is the snore number reduced to zero which might prove out your soft palette theory. Tolerating the higher pressures isn't a problem either aside from some minor mask leakage that I have to fool around with. To take this one step further... I've connected in a pressure transmitter and data logger to the mask hose. Playing back the nightly pressure trends (breathing cycles) with the lower titrated pressure settings (10/15), shows a "residual" snoring pattern at the end of the exhale cycle. Rather than a "primary" snore at the beginning of the inhale cycle. This tells me the Epap setting might be too low. Think of it like this... blow up a balloon and let it go. The excaping air noise (snoring like sound) through the balloon's (lungs) soft rubber hose (soft palette airway) is caused by a pressure differential that collapses the balloon's open ended hose. It's a basic flow physics balancing act. My theory (I'm not a doctor) is if the snore event occurred on the inhale part of the breathing cycle then the Ipap pressure is too low. The balloon in reverse. The higher setting (14/17) eliminated the large pressure differential that 10/15 caused. My AHI numbers really didn't change between the two pressure setting because I suspect the calculated OAI and HI numbers are based on inhale pressure & flow. This presents a good argument for using CPAP instead of Bi-PAP.
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Sleepless on LI
- Posts: 3997
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: Long Island, New York
Guest,
Glad you were able to come up with some rather specific possibilities from my rather simple thoughts. You took it to a much more scientific level, however, than I ever could. I am impressed. If it helped, I am very happy. Let me know how your pressure adjustments relate to your new theory.
Glad you were able to come up with some rather specific possibilities from my rather simple thoughts. You took it to a much more scientific level, however, than I ever could. I am impressed. If it helped, I am very happy. Let me know how your pressure adjustments relate to your new theory.
L o R i
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