Noisy ResMed CPAP - driving my wife crazy - DME not helpful

codinqueen wrote:If your mask is leaking, or if you are opening your mouth while sleeping,

I'm pretty sure that I don't.

there will be some noise.
My hubby complains he hears noise when my nasal pillows are leaking. If you use nasal pillows try some Lanisoh to see if it might hold the pillows more securely and eliminate any leak.

I use a facemask that covers my entire nose, rather than nasal pillows.

But S9 machines are the quietest machines in many people's opinions. You could try putting it on a thick piece of rubber matting

I have a rubber mousepad that I can use.

and see if that will help, but don't put it on foam rubber that it would sink into because the machine has to "breathe". Anything cutting off air around the machine could be dangerous-think fire, or could cause your machine to overheat and die. How old is your machine?

Machine is just about one year old now.

It might be something you could ask ResMed about it, possibly if under warranty they could help you maybe. They have a website. It is important to use your machine, tell wifey without it you could have a stroke, then she would be changing your diapers maybe, or she might be a widow earlier than necessary. Buy her some ear plugs. I wonder if a white noise machine or a fan would muffle the "noise: enough that she wouldn't be bothered by it. Don't stop pappin'! It is dangerous for your health.

Thanks for these suggestions.

kaiasgram wrote:x509, what type of surface is your machine sitting on? I have my S9 on a solid wood night table on a carpeted floor, and it's whisper quiet. When I took it to my daughter's house this summer I set it on an Ikea nightstand (made of some kind of compressed particle-board material) and it was shocking -- it sounded like a Boeing 747 by comparison.

My S9 is on a solid wood night table, like yours, and the night table is on a carpeted floor.

Some people put large mouse pads under the machine to soften the noise (and prevent it from slipping and sliding), but it didn't help much with the Ikea nightstand.

Agreed.

If you tell us more about exactly what you're hearing we may be able to target our answers a little better for you. The S9 is a quiet machine by and large, so there's got to be some solutions unless there's something wrong with your machine.

My wife describes the sound as "whooshing." I hear my own breathing as "Darth Vader" when I'm wearing the mask. I can hear the machine makeing some kind of noise like a fan makes.

I'm replying to these messages in the order they were posted. I really appreciate all the replies. I've already explained about the kind of noise.

x509 wrote:
My wife says that the noise is like a "whooshing" sound, but not a constant "drone" that she might get used to. She said that if she checks the noise when I'm asleep it alternates between the facemask and the actual machine.

My own experience is that when I'm wearing the facemask, (Mirage FX), it sounds like I'm hearing Darth Vader breathing. Before I go to sleep, the machine is relatively quiet, but sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, it's much louder.

If you have an apap then the machine will work harder if you have an event. It is supposed to to that.
If it is the mask then it is probably leaking.

The S9's are good machines. Trade the wife in for someone with more intelligence and compassion.

x509 wrote: My wife describes the sound as "whooshing." I hear my own breathing as "Darth Vader" when I'm wearing the mask. I can hear the machine makeing some kind of noise like a fan makes.

I think you may be dealing with conducted noise. Certainly the Darth Vader noises you're hearing are likely conducted noise. The description of "whoosing" and sometimes "coming from the mask" and sometimes "coming from the machine" makes it sound to me like your wife may also be picking up on the magnified sound of your (normalized) breathing with the machine.

How do you route your hose from the machine to your nose? Do you curl around your wife with the hose touching her or her pillow in any way? Does she curl into your body?

If the problem is noise being conducted through the hose, the simplest fix is to give the noise some competition. Could the wife stand the thought of using a white noise machine at night to try to mask (NOT drown out) the conducted noise?

And again: What did wife do when your OSA was untreated and she had to put up with your snoring? Your snoring was undoubtedly louder and more irregular than the whoosing she's currently complaining about. Or did she just kick you out of the bed and downstairs whenever the snoring started?

If the vent (CO2 disperser) is accidentally blocked by bedding at some point, and then uncovered (which it should be at all times) the whoosh could well arouse someone who hasn't heard it as white noise when it was covered (or become used to it all the time).

My husband and I sleep In separate rooms. his machine is so loud since he went to the nasal pillows, that I can't sleep. I need my sleep, too. after his third sleep study the doctor put him back on the nasal pillows at a higher pressure because his ahi was something like 20. I think the machinemust get lounder as he falls deeper in sleep and the pressure increases as he needs more help to breathe. I am going on a trip with him and will definitely try the mouse pad.

I have used earplugs but they don't help much. The best are speedo silicone moldable earplugs but I can only standthem so long.

I am going to video him so the doctor can hear him. Wish the iPhone had infra red.

Compassionate Wife wrote:My husband and I sleep In separate rooms. his machine is so loud since he went to the nasal pillows, that I can't sleep. I need my sleep, too. after his third sleep study the doctor put him back on the nasal pillows at a higher pressure because his ahi was something like 20. I think the machinemust get lounder as he falls deeper in sleep and the pressure increases as he needs more help to breathe. I am going on a trip with him and will definitely try the mouse pad.

I have used earplugs but they don't help much. The best are speedo silicone moldable earplugs but I can only standthem so long.

I am going to video him so the doctor can hear him. Wish the iPhone had infra red.

Compassionate Wife,

What about getting custom made earplugs?

Also, have you considered noise cancellation headphone earbuds? Not sure what the best brand is but thought I would throw that out there.

49er

The hose cozy should help . But the best muffler is the pad a cheek liner- they are great and reduce noise for me- stops the darth vader stuff. . Get your machine off of the hollow night stand and get it below your mattress,use a hook or hose buddy on headboard to stop rainout and keep hose away from her. Sleep on your side over the edge of the pillow away from her so vents don't point at her , maybe a large pillow between you two would help. I am a pillow freak so quite often I put the extras between us on our king size bed when sleeping. We also run a ceiling fan 24/7 all year long.

You are being insensitive to that wife. Of course she doesn't want her husband to have a stroke. When something is keeping someone from sleeping they sometimes say things in frustration. It's more helpful to try to solve the problem so no one has to leave the room. My husband's machine was fine at first, very quiet, and now the machine, not the face mask, not him sleeping with his mouth open, the machine itself is sounds like it is strongly “breathing”. It's louder than the AC fan. There is something wrong with the machine and if that's the case it may not be healthful for him that way. Telling people they are lacking in compassion or they should just wear earplugs is defensive and non-helpful. Why not just try to figure out why the machine is noisy. It's not supposed to be.

Guest wrote:You are being insensitive to that wife. Of course she doesn't want her husband to have a stroke. When something is keeping someone from sleeping they sometimes say things in frustration. It's more helpful to try to solve the problem so no one has to leave the room. My husband's machine was fine at first, very quiet, and now the machine, not the face mask, not him sleeping with his mouth open, the machine itself is sounds like it is strongly “breathing”. It's louder than the AC fan. There is something wrong with the machine and if that's the case it may not be healthful for him that way. Telling people they are lacking in compassion or they should just wear earplugs is defensive and non-helpful. Why not just try to figure out why the machine is noisy. It's not supposed to be.

Guest,

I am sorry if I came across as being insensitive to the wife as I certainly didn't mean to be. As an FYI, I have never criticized any spouse for complaining about machine noise as any type of sleep deprivation is not helpful.

But if there is nothing wrong with the machine, then I fail to see why suggesting earplugs is a non helpful solution. It may not work for the particular person but it is an issue of trying to find a win win situation for everyone so that no one is sleep deprived.

49er

My wife put up with my snoring for 30 years. Now I have the apap and no snoring, she usually falls asleep b-4 I do. If she wakes during the night and actually hears wind then she slips out of bed and goes to another. I also use a small air purifier that runs for white noise. That helps alot because of my tinitus. There are ways to approach these problems and are solutions to each...

First my sympathy goes out to the wife who could not sleep and told her husband he needed to sleep in another room. It is no fun waking up in the middle of the night to hear constant noises like a machine that is in close proximity to you or someone loudly snoring in another room. My wife had the same complaint.

The solution is to get the machine below head level and on a padded surface. The pad should be able to absorb sound. A small piece of carpet would suffice. Motors make noise so you can' muffle all the noise but it is a start

charliemack wrote:First my sympathy goes out to the wife who could not sleep and told her husband he needed to sleep in another room. It is no fun waking up in the middle of the night to hear constant noises like a machine that is in close proximity to you or someone loudly snoring in another room. My wife had the same complaint.

The solution is to get the machine below head level and on a padded surface. The pad should be able to absorb sound. A small piece of carpet would suffice. Motors make noise so you can' muffle all the noise but it is a start

Sounds like good advice.
I however don't know if my machine and mask make noise and my husband and I are fortunate enough to have separate bedrooms.
We love each other immensely but both believe that we do not need to be stuck together like glue at nighttime to know it.

I would no more share the bathroom with him at the very same moment

I personally believe that we all need our privacy, no matter how much we love the other person. And I personally don't want to be awakened EVERY time he rolls over in the bed, or hops out of bed, or turns the TV on ( which i cannot sleep with and he can't sleep without)..........so sometimes separate bedrooms are a luxury I believe every couple should contemplate.
And no, before anyone dares to ask a stupid question, the answer is YES, one can have those intimate times whenever they wish........


Although the carpet idea of the poster above me sounds like a great solution to me if only because i havent ever had that problem and have not had to give any thought to solving it............but there is a solution if its possible, IF you have more than one bedroom..............you might just find yourself sleeping better alone than you have with another person all this time.
I am only offering this for my experience talking to people of separate bedrooms has told me that most couples would never even contemplate the idea OR one would but is afraid to mention it to their spouse worried that the partner might take it as an insult.
Whatever the case might be..........its often worth talking over...........you never know, your spouse might be wishing the same thing

I am the WIFE of a cpap user and I resent the replies below. While I would never tell my husband to sleep elsewhere there are certainly night's when I would like to! And he is a diabetic type 2, and has suffered a brain stroke. When the caregiver can't sleep everyone suffers. You need to show a little sensitivity and compassion to what you don't know lies behind the complaining and not cause further domestic problems for this poor guy. I want to sleep next to my husband and I'm sure the wife referred to here might as well. I'm sure she's aware of stroke and heart issues or they wouldn't have the unit. Tough to judge so I'm not going to and neither should you. I went looking for answers to our own problem (notice I typed "our") and got distracted by anger at reading these insensitive, overbearing and chauvinistic answers, assuming the wife is the insensitive one regardless of what might be the case at home. What if her health is at risk as well? I found these comments offensive.

My husband's machine is quiet. It works well. He wears a nose mask with a pillow and a double head strap which also works well. What happens, (after several years of quiet night's) although he's changed pillows to see if it will help, the pillow seems to tilt and leak if he moves the slightest. He needs a large size. We've tried two different types of machines, a chin strap and full mask doesn't work for him. The noise escalates throughout the night, starting quietly then turning into a rampant steam machine, actually quite deafening. He doesn't hear it (hard of hearing) and he has started making unhealthy gurgling sounds, vibrating his lips like a trumpet player.
In short, is there any tip for anchoring the pillow to seal it? Someone mentions Lanisol? Vasaline? Can these deteriorate the rubber or hose?

The vaseline can deteriorate the silicone... but the answer is in your note - get him a large size, or else try other masks - there are very many out there and another is sure to fit him better once properly sized and fitted (look on Cpap.com for ideas). Btw. this thread is over 2 yrs old... often best to start a new one with an appropriate heading so others can advise.