My CPAP keeps waking my sleep partner

A little background: Before my OSA diagnosis, I could literally sleep 18+ hours straight if I didn't set an alarm. I never woke up feeling refreshed. I was always dragging and craving more sleep. And on days where I only managed 7-9 hours of sleep because of work, I often fell asleep at my desk or even feared I would doze off on the drive home. This went on for about two years, during which I saw several doctors who tested me for all sorts of things (auto-immune diseases, thyroid problems, adrenal problems, depression, etc.) before someone finally mentioned sleep apnea. Went and got tested and was diagnosed with moderate OSA. Got my CPAP a few days later and now I'm sleeping 7-9 hours a night and feeling pretty darn good. On weekends, I'm still sleeping about 10-12 hours (a bit much, I know), but I wake up feeling refreshed and have energy all day long. It's definitely a major improvement.

I caved and downloaded SleepyHead and have been monitoring my data (I somehow turned into a cpap nerd over the course of 2 weeks). All my stats look great. AHI consistently below 1.0. Only once did I have any time in "major leak territory," though there are a few sporadic leaks here and there. And that's where my problem comes in. These sporadic leaks that literally last 15 seconds or less and don't wake me in the slightest do wake up my husband, who is a very light sleeper. Since I've had the CPAP, I've slept great but HIS sleep has deteriorated tremendously. He says he wakes up frequently to the sound of air escaping my mask (presumably a leak, and not just the regular venting). I've tried adjusting the pressure so my min/max settings are closer together (8.0-9.6) so the thing never gushes out as 12.0 because the mask moved slightly. Everything seems to be going pretty well for me, but I'm desperate to make things better for my husband. Any suggestions? He's on the verge of sleeping in our guest room

Are you open to trying a different mask?

The Resmed P10 nasal pillow is the quietest mask I know of. Almost no exhaust noise at all. Might be worth a try.

If that is not good enough let him sleep somewhere else.

Second for the Resmed Airfit P10 mask. Absolutely silent and almost undetectable exhaust. Since you can use nasal therapy, just update the mask. I previously used the FX model and it has enough thrust to lift aircraft. The P10 is a whole different world.

(did I exaggerate?)

Thanks, SleepDisturbed and Sleeprider. I'd prefer to avoid switching masks if possible. Mine is so comfy and doesn't bother me at all. But I have read good things about the P10 on this board and broke down and bought one from someone on here just yesterday. So that will arrive soon and I'll give it a try. (I should note that when I first ordered my cpap, I purchased 3 masks (the Swift FX pillows, the Swift FX nano and the P10), so I have actually "tested" the P10 before. I didn't like it as much as the nano, which is why I returned it. But to be fair, I didn't sleep with it on overnight. I just tried them on, turned on the machine and chose the most comfortable one.)

If my SleepyHead data says I'm not having any major mask leaks, shouldn't my mask be just fine? Is there really a zero-leak mask out there? Is it common to have several sporadic leaks throughout the night (even if they don't land you in major leak territory)? Or is my husband just being too sensitive?

SleepDisturbed wrote:Are you open to trying a different mask?

The Resmed P10 nasal pillow is the quietest mask I know of. Almost no exhaust noise at all. Might be worth a try.

If that is not good enough let him sleep somewhere else.

Agree with the above 110%

Have you considered running a fan in the room? I know a lot of people who don't sleep without one in the city - the drone eliminates the 'disturbed silence' thing going on. There are also a variety of pillow speakers where only he would hear the music - lots of relaxing sleep music out there.

Oh, I hadn't considered a fan or any kind of sound machine! Maybe even an air purifier or just something with white noise. That might work if I really can't stand the P10. Thanks for the idea!!

Consider getting liners for your mask and they will keep the leaks down to a minimum.

Since I start using the Rem ZZZ's the leaks are no longer an issue, and seems to make everything quieter.
I have a pressure of 23 and leaks were a constant battle for me it really helps.


I wish you well...

Consider twin beds. One of you can migrate for the Biblical stuff.

Renee784 wrote:These sporadic leaks that literally last 15 seconds or less and don't wake me in the slightest do wake up my husband, who is a very light sleeper.

well, tell him that when he wakes up, and you're making noise, to try and figure out what's causing it.

is it that your mask is crooked and leaking around your nose? or is the air jet blowing on the covers? get him to poke around on it and see if he can figure out what's causing the noise that's bothering him, and then you'll have more info to go on to figure out a solution...

Thank you all for your replies. They're all very helpful. I'm going to give the P10 a try and see what I (and my husband) think of that. If leaks are still waking him up, I think I'll give the liners a try.

I wish I could convince him to get twin beds. Between him and the dog, I end up with just a sliver of bed to myself.

@palerider: I showed him the difference between venting and a leak when I was awake and wearing the mask (just to demo) and then asked him to investigate as to which was making the noise when it woke him up. He said it was definitely a leak (air was escaping from the top up into my eye). While the leak didn't wake me up, having my husband reach over and try to adjust my mask when I was fast asleep absolutely did and scared the crap out of me! After that I instituted a "look but don't touch" rule.

Hi, Renee784. I just wanted to congratulate you on the great progress you've made so far! I'm sure you'll get past this minor issue quickly.

If there are still problems after trying the other mask and/or liners then you've got an excellent argument for two beds. It's just a matter of selling it in the right way.

Renee784 wrote:Thank you all for your replies. They're all very helpful. I'm going to give the P10 a try and see what I (and my husband) think of that. If leaks are still waking him up, I think I'll give the liners a try.

I started with a nasal mask. I wish I'd known about the common wisdom of try pillows, if that doesn't work try nasal mask, if that doesn't work and a chin strap doesn't help, go full face mask. I switched to the ResMed AirSense P10 nasal pillows after about 45 days. There are several other pillow systems out there if the P10 isn't working for you and some of those also have very quiet diffusers. Pillows leak a lot less than a mask. I found that the nasal mask was OK for a few hours but then started moving and leaking as skin oils built up. I moved to the P10 before experimenting with cloth liners to deal with the skin oil leak issue.

Beyond the mask diffuser noise and minimizing the leaks, I suppose you could also quiet down the machine some. Maybe put the machine under the bed. Maybe build a box for it using a HEPA HVAC filter for the side facing the wall. Some people with mold/pollen allergy issues do that.

My wife and I both use CPAPs.
I found her mask leaks waking me up and have solved it by wearing earplugs. This isn't for everybody but works very well for me.
I trust that she'll wake me up if something needs attending to.

Hubby often realigns my mask if it's off kilter.
As long as he is awake . . .