Can CPAP use cause hearing loss?

I'm very protective of my hearing. I rely on it a lot. So I know that many things in our environment, when sustained over a period of time, can cause hearing loss.

I've been using an Auto CPAP for a couple of years now. The pressure is relatively high -- 13 or 14. I mostly use a nasal mask. Because I like to sleep cool and am also somewhat claustrophobic, I adjust my mask fairly loosely on my face. Often the machine registers a "large leak" for a significant portion of my sleep (38% and 78% are two numbers I remember). But it works well. I enjoy the extra little bit of space and cool air on my nose and face and my AHI is low. It seems that my apnea is well under control.

However, all that air -- from the leak and from the air vent -- at relatively high pressure does create a more noisy machine. Recently, I started worrying that all that noise near my face for hours every night might be starting to affect my hearing. I'm not sure. What I'm feeling is quite subtle. I might be being hypochondriacal about it. But I don't want to discover after several more years that I really do have hearing loss.

Has anybody ever done any research about this? Do you know where I might be able to find out? My hearing is excellent and I want to keep it that way as long as possible.

Jpek

I don't know how much sound you experience with the leak since I rarely have leak. But! I would be concerned that your ahi numbers are not accurate if you have large leak a good portion of every night.

Can you post a graph of a typical night?

Any reason you can't wear ear plugs (apart from the good advice ZCP gave)?

I don't have a graph -- only a 1, 7 and 30 day average numbers. As of today those are 38%, 24%, 48%. AHI for the same periods is .5, .2, .4.

But I don't want to lose track of my main question. That's my main concern here.

Oh, I hate ear plugs. Can never wear them for long. Don't like the feeling of ears being stopped up.

jpek wrote:I don't have a graph -- only a 1, 7 and 30 day average numbers. As of today those are 38%, 24%, 48%. AHI for the same periods is .5, .2, .4.

But I don't want to lose track of my main question. That's my main concern here.

So you really have no idea what your treatment is doing. You have averages, but no idea how bad your leak actually is. Your ahi may be totally inaccurate. Your treatment may NOT be going well.

Can you measure the noise level produced by your machine? Most of us do not sleep with large leak, so we aren't going to know what kind of noise you are dealing with. If you are truly worried, go to an ear specialist, get your hearing checked, and have them listen to the sound of your machine and see if they think it is a danger.

I would think that if you can sleep through the sound easily, it probably isn't that bad. I can't stand any hissing, so I have to get up and fix any leaks if I have them. Otherwise, I can't sleep. I grew up with earcaches, constant ear infections, and had tubes put in my ears. For the past 27 years, I have worked in a loud environment with exhaust fans and other noises that cause me to have trouble hearing the customers. But when I go in for a hearing test, my hearing is very good. I have been tested at multiple labs over the years, and they all say my hearing is great.

jpek wrote:I'm very protective of my hearing. I rely on it a lot. So I know that many things in our environment, when sustained over a period of time, can cause hearing loss.

I've been using an Auto CPAP for a couple of years now. The pressure is relatively high -- 13 or 14. I mostly use a nasal mask. Because I like to sleep cool and am also somewhat claustrophobic, I adjust my mask fairly loosely on my face. Often the machine registers a "large leak" for a significant portion of my sleep (38% and 78% are two numbers I remember). But it works well. I enjoy the extra little bit of space and cool air on my nose and face and my AHI is low. It seems that my apnea is well under control.

However, all that air -- from the leak and from the air vent -- at relatively high pressure does create a more noisy machine. Recently, I started worrying that all that noise near my face for hours every night might be starting to affect my hearing. I'm not sure. What I'm feeling is quite subtle. I might be being hypochondriacal about it. But I don't want to discover after several more years that I really do have hearing loss.

Has anybody ever done any research about this? Do you know where I might be able to find out? My hearing is excellent and I want to keep it that way as long as possible.

Jpek

Hi jpek,

Having a hearing loss prior to starting PAP therapy, I worried about this also but honestly didn't find any research that supported the fact that it causes this. So I went ahead with it. I did have my hearing tested a few years ago for other reasons and nothing had changed from previous tests.

If you are concerned about your hearing, you might want to seek an evaluation by an audiologist for a piece of mind as your concern is definitely legitimate. No, you are not being a hypochondriac by worrying about this.

Also, do you have narrow ear canals by any chance? I do and as a result, wax accumulates very quickly which can also affect hearing. I have to see my PCP frequently to get it removed because I simply make things worse trying to do it myself.

Best of luck.

49er

jpek wrote:Oh, I hate ear plugs. Can never wear them for long. Don't like the feeling of ears being stopped up.

I hate them also.

Additionally, I found they were pushing wax further down into my ear canal which was affecting my hearing.

49er

zoocrewphoto wrote:

jpek wrote:I don't have a graph -- only a 1, 7 and 30 day average numbers. As of today those are 38%, 24%, 48%. AHI for the same periods is .5, .2, .4.

So you really have no idea what your treatment is doing. You have averages, but no idea how bad your leak actually is. Your ahi may be totally inaccurate. Your treatment may NOT be going well.

Presumably averages count for something. What else do you suggest I do? My subjective experience is that the treatment is working (as compared to nights when I've been forced to sleep without the CPAP) and my averages say it's working. What else am I supposed to check out? BTW, it doesn't take that much air leak to register a "large leak." It only takes steady air coming out of at least one spot on the mask.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I think I should go see an audiologist. And maybe I'll bring my CPAP. (But no, I don't know of a way to measure how loud my CPAP is when I'm sleeping.

jpek wrote:

zoocrewphoto wrote:

jpek wrote:I don't have a graph -- only a 1, 7 and 30 day average numbers. As of today those are 38%, 24%, 48%. AHI for the same periods is .5, .2, .4.

So you really have no idea what your treatment is doing. You have averages, but no idea how bad your leak actually is. Your ahi may be totally inaccurate. Your treatment may NOT be going well.

Presumably averages count for something. What else do you suggest I do? My subjective experience is that the treatment is working (as compared to nights when I've been forced to sleep without the CPAP) and my averages say it's working. What else am I supposed to check out? BTW, it doesn't take that much air leak to register a "large leak." It only takes steady air coming out of at least one spot on the mask.

General averages are barely useful. For example: What does 38% large leak mean? Did you spend 38% of the night barely above the line for large leak, or WAY above the line? That stat doesn't tell you what your actual leak was or for how long. The graphs DO tell you that information. You really need to download the free software and look at the graphs.


Keep in mind that the machine cannot detect events when the leak is too high, so you could be having events that aren't being recorded. You may be doing better than without the machine, but it may not be as great as you think.

There are meters that can measure the decibels of a sound. An ear doctor probable has one. Then you would know if the noise is loud enough to cause damage.

zoocrewphoto wrote:General averages are barely useful. For example: What does 38% large leak mean? Did you spend 38% of the night barely above the line for large leak, or WAY above the line? That stat doesn't tell you what your actual leak was or for how long. The graphs DO tell you that information. You really need to download the free software and look at the graphs.

I don't know of any free software that would show me graphs. Are you referring to something specific?

Sleepyhead is free and used by most here... see the first 'Tutorial" at the top of the page and follow instructions re DL'g and posting. We'll help you interpret.

Sorry, I don't see any tutorials. What page? Do you have a link?

The very first post (under Announcements) on the main forum pg.