How can chin straps possibly work?

I have to tape my mouth every night. (I wear nasal pillows). It's getting old. I tried a couple chin straps a long time ago, but no matter how good the chin strap is, you can still blow air out right? If I clench my teeth closed, I can still blow lots of air out of my mouth.
How can these work?

Country4ever wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 26, 2018 3:24 pm

I tried a couple chin straps a long time ago, but no matter how good the chin strap is, you can still blow air out right? If I clench my teeth closed, I can still blow lots of air out of my mouth.
How can these work?

Yeah, How do those work? I just pushed my chin up with my hand and my lips still flapped as the air rushed out.

Yes, chin straps have been known to work--but are pushed, even when they don't.
Lips work independent of the jaw--who knew?
Tape is used often--never tell your provider--it freaks them out.
Some have success with a foam cervical collar.
Search "brandy keg" here; brilliant, but effectve solution.
Some chin straps are waaay better than others.
PapCap is one.

Doc advised me to get off my stomach sleeping position, and can't sleep on my side, so am on my back, but I know I will snore and blow air, so have been using the cervical collar. So glad to see the info on the brandy keg, as it should be considerably cooler than the collar.

cloth headbands over the lips also work for some people.

palerider wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:34 am

cloth headbands over the lips also work for some people.

this. ^^^^

for those curious about it, here's a post about it-

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=112758&st=0&sk=t&sd ... i#p1086296

works well for me, though i modify it a bit and use two.

i reckon that's due to my big mouth!

As the pressure for effective tmt rises, the likelihood of air forcing its way out of the mouth of a nose mask wearer rises...regardless of whatever is placed under one's chin. The lips lose tone, and we all know what follows as we drift off. Hurricane, dry mouth, noise, swatting spouse...yeah, all that cool sleep-ensconcing stuff.

Yes, we're all different, and different techniques and fixes have their rates of efficacy, even up to 99%. But so very many of us have to have covered lips that taping is really the only method, outside of a full frame mask, that actually works.

Until someone invents a slim mask that infiltrates and seals both nostrils and seals or inflitrates the mouth at the same time if needed, one that doesn't get dislodged easily, or is so uncomfortable that it actually prevents sleep, we have to live with what is available AND sealing the other aperture(s).

Fortunately for me, my first night was so awful in that one respect, mouth venting, that I knew CPAP as a trial or when continued for health purposes was going to fail for me. It was fortunate because I immediately knew I'd have to cover my mouth effectively. When I consulted my therapist, she said she could sell me a chin strap, or that some people resort to tape. I chose the tape. She also urged me to stick with the nose mask because more people reported troubles with any full frame mask on the market.

It's all in the attitude. If you wanna live..............................and sleep halfways decently.....................

Country4ever wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 26, 2018 3:24 pm

I have to tape my mouth every night. (I wear nasal pillows). It's getting old. I tried a couple chin straps a long time ago, but no matter how good the chin strap is, you can still blow air out right? If I clench my teeth closed, I can still blow lots of air out of my mouth.
How can these work?

A broken clock is right twice a day, if you don't use military time or count A.M. and P.M. Jim

Perceiving and Knowing aren't the same thing.

Anything that corrects the defect, and fixes your problem, "Works for You", providing you know and can prove the problem no longer exists. That doesn't mean it's not a waste of time to others.

I use a chin strap and it has helped me. I use to open my mouth after falling asleep and the strap has stopped that. I will occasionally awake with cheeks puffed out and air escaping from my mouth.

I used chin straps, tape, denture adhesive between my lips, cervical pillow, etc for the first few years of my treatment. All helped some, but were not fully effective in keeping the air from escaping my lips. A slack jaw is one contributor to mouth leaks, so in that respect, a chin strap helps. Beyond that, the other efforts try to force the air to stay in the mouth. But none of those were my solution, just aids along the way. I had read so much on here about obtaining a seal with the tongue against the roof of the mouth. I was conscious of that seal even in waking moments. I practiced it with such intensity I had to back off a bit as I was getting sore sucker spots on the roof of my mouth. Over time I found that it really doesn't take a whole lot of suction. But I practiced until it became second nature to maintain that seal. Until then, I avoided back sleeping. In addition to keeping the air in, it helps the tongue stay out of the throat. Actually, talking about this makes me realize I have that seal even as I type this. What helped me maintain the seal was to sleep purposefully. I am mostly a side sleeper. A flat firm pillow prevents my head from slipping into a position during sleep that allows gravity to fight against the seal. My general rule of thumb in side sleeping is my chin and forehead should be level. Eliminating the force of gravity made a huge difference for me.

dreamingofdreaming wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 27, 2018 12:05 pm

I use a chin strap and it has helped me. I use to open my mouth after falling asleep and the strap has stopped that. I will occasionally awake with cheeks puffed out and air escaping from my mouth.

Are you a retired politician? You say a helps, but last sentence says don't work. I believe the last one, as it is what must be corrected to get treatment working. Jim

It works in that it keeps my mouth from falling open while I sleep, which is the reason that I bought it.

Country4ever wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 26, 2018 3:24 pm

I have to tape my mouth every night. (I wear nasal pillows). It's getting old. I tried a couple chin straps a long time ago, but no matter how good the chin strap is, you can still blow air out right? If I clench my teeth closed, I can still blow lots of air out of my mouth.
How can these work?

It helps to prevent mouth breathing.
To minimize mouth leaking, I have been successfully using The Ultimate Chin Strap for 8 years at pressure near 20.

mesenteria wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:43 am

As the pressure for effective tmt rises, the likelihood of air forcing its way out of the mouth of a nose mask wearer rises...regardless of whatever is placed under one's chin. The lips lose tone, and we all know what follows as we drift off.

That's a nice theory, but it really doesn't have anything to do with lips. it's your soft palate that lets air leak into your mouth in the first place.

Yes, but chin straps don't work on the soft palate any more than the tape does. Same for tape. If, like me, the sucking technique does exactly that, meaning it doesn't work,.................................................