I guess the Aura is not for me...

derek · Post by **derek** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:44 am

I spent half an hour in front of a mirror last night trying to adjust the Aura to minimize leaks. I tried both the medium and the large inserts. With playing around I could get it to work with both, but it was very sensitive to any movement of my face or the headgear. I tried AYR gel to improve the seal but that made it much worse - the inserts became slimy and slipped all over the place.

I went to bed with the large inserts. I could push and pull the inserts to get a seal, but the slightest movement, for example pressure on my cheek, would break the seal even though the headgear was on firmly. Any movement of my head on the pillow, or any change in the hose position broke the seal. It got to be so frustrating that in the middle of the night I decided to switch to the medium inserts. That was an improvement, but by no means did it solve the problem.

And then there is the noise problem. It drove me bananas! Any time the flow is outwards (inhalation) the noise is huge. This means that leaks have a double whammy, the breeze on the face, and a very much increased noise level. I've looked very closely at what is going on and think that it is caused by the design of the plastic tube and the placement of the exhaust holes. The flow pattern around the exhaust ports will be vastly different depending on the flow direction.

The result is that I had a disturbed night, and this morning a sore (to the touch) nose. I also had the highest AHI I have ever seen. I don't think that this is going to work out.

heretolearn · Post by **heretolearn** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:00 am

Sorry, Derek about your bad night! As far as leaks last night, I had none that I could tell and leak data this morning read ".04" My comfort was great throughout the night no matter how I tossed and turned! ( I even slept with my face partially nuzzled into the pillow at one point and everything was just fine!) The noise was about the same as what I have with my Swift. But, honestly, for me, noise is not an issue. Maybe you could play around with the headband and crown staps to get a different fit? Keep reading here, maybe one of the pros will have some better advice for you! Good Luck!

Mikesus · Post by **Mikesus** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:18 am

Derek,

Do you think it is a problem with the shape of your nares or?

From looking at it, if you had more elongated nares then I could see where that might be a problem. You might want to see if they are able to provide the extra large and give that size a try. RG seems to think that you always want to go a size bigger than you would think you need.

rock and roll · Post by **rock and roll** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:40 am

How hard can it be for makers of these units to supply four sizes of these little nasal inserts? I for one would gladly pay the few bucks more it coulld cost at the most. This is such a small and inexpensive part compared to the overall mask.

Ann N.. · Post by **Ann N..** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:45 am

Derek-
I got my Aura yesterday-- fiddled with it a lot, could never get rid of the leaks with either the medium or the large pillows. There isn't anything unusual about my head, face and nose-- pretty much standard issue. The only thing that I can figure out is that the Aura might not work well with high pressures (e.g. 17/13 in my case). Do you also have high pressure?

Although I like my Breeze-- it works well-- I am sooooo disappointed about the Aura. Just as others, I have been in search of the perfect interface. Perhaps I have already found the one which comes closest and I will have to be satisfied. In the last week I also tried the Snapp (not good), Swift (just okay), and now the Aura--- $300 worth of masks. How disappointing. And how gullible I am!

In spite of this disappointment, I am so thankful for the wonderful technology available to treat OSA. It is a godsend.

Ann N.

Janelle · Post by **Janelle** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:06 am

I know the nose piece of the Aura is much more adjustable than the Breeze. Have you tried that? Was there any instruction booklet or CD with the mask.

Ann N. · Post by **Ann N.** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:24 am

Janelle,

I don't know if you were addressing Derek or me, but I really tried very hard to get everything adjusted. If I get a seal in one position, the slightest movement breaks the seal. I just can't seem to get it seal right for realistic use. Again, it might be because of my high pressures. If so, others who also have high pressures should be aware of that possibility before they shell out $100 for it, i.e., I think the jury is still out on that one and high pressure people would be well advised to wait until more feedback is in.

There are instructions with it but no CD.

Ann

derek · Post by **derek** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:42 am

My average pressure last night was only 8.6 cm.

I took a look at my nares in the mirror (not a pretty sight!). I think they are probably quite long and elongated - measured them at 20mm by 12mm.

Mikesus · Post by **Mikesus** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:55 am

That might be the problem Derek... Wonder if the extralarge would help or still not be elongated enough...

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 9:56 am

derek wrote:My average pressure last night was only 8.6 cm.

I took a look at my nares in the mirror (not a pretty sight!). I think they are probably quite long and elongated - measured them at 20mm by 12mm.

My guess is this is your problem. I don't consider my nares to be small and they measure 16mm x 9mm. The XL seal may help, but that does you no good until it is available.

Paul B · Post by **Paul B** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:30 am

I had the same problem with the Aura last night that I do with the Swift. I just can't seem to keep the pillows in the nares without big leaks while I'm tossing around. My AHI in the morning was 7.4 and I'm usually 1.0 - 4.0.

It is noisy but I can live with that. At one point during the night I woke up and I had apparently taken it off even though I don't remember doing it. I tried a second headband to help secure the device in place but that didn't seem to work either. It's back to the Activa for me. I do like the minimal amount of face contact with the Aura and I'll continue to fiddle with it, but right now anyway it's not delivering the therapy I need to keep my AHI under control.

bozmon · Post by **bozmon** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 12:12 pm

Any unsatisfied users care to re-sell their AURA's? PM me if you'd like to sell one.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 2:17 pm

I agree with Wader that the Aura certainly needs to come out with Extra Large pillows as soon as possible. The Large are what seal best for me in the Aura's pillows (as well as Breeze pillows.)

Maybe my nares aren't as small as I'd always thought by just looking at them! I just now looked at them in a mirror with head tilted back. Derek, you're right - it's not a pretty sight!!

So, I proceeded to measure them with folded paper.

My larger nare (yeah, one is a tad smaller) is just under a half inch tall and is not quite 1/4 inch wide at the base.

On a ruler that shows mm/cm, the paper hits the big #1 for height and hits the 7th small tick mark for the width.

Hey, all you mathematicians out there -
Does that mean my nare is 10 mm high and 7 mm wide?

Whatever those inches and millimeters mean - I do wear the Large as the most comfortable and most leakproof for me. Side straps are a must for me to hold the pillows in place.

One of the big selling points of the Swift, imho, is that it comes with all three sizes. I echo rockandroll's sentiment - the Aura should come with all four sizes, even if that makes it more expensive to buy in the first place. Or at least come with large and extra large, as I think those two sizes would fit more people, both men and women.

Hey, Aeiomed... ya'll better make that extra large that you plan to come out with, REALLY EXTRA...not just a leeeetle bit more than your present "large". Or else get a fifth size in the works as fast as you can - Jumbo, or something. And hurry it up getting that Extra Large out there or you're going to be losing a lot of male customers!!

Big mistake that you didn't already have an Extra Large right at the start. But if delay in providing Extra Large is the only miscalculation you make in your start-up, you're still doing well....excellent mask design, imho. You really should have called your "large" - "medium" - and made a bigger size to call "large". People don't want to have to cram nasal pillows up the snoot. And they really do seal better outside.

hmmm...yet another reason to be happy I'm a woman. In a world full of masks/headgear designed primarily for men and often too big for women, I'm lucky with the Aura's Large pillows. Sorry to hear they are not sealing well for some of the guys.

Mikesus · Post by **Mikesus** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 2:22 pm

Posted this in another thread but belongs here too:

There is a user on the TAS board that emailed the company regarding the XLarge...

Currently we are manufacturing only the medium and large seals. Later
this year we will plan to introduce small and extra large seals. No
date has been set yet.

Howard Lyons
Manager, Inside Sales & Customer Support

Might cancel mine and get a breeze for now...

Nutz, just read about all the "NEW BREEZE" problems...

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 2:59 pm

Mikesus,

Measure your nares and either post the measurements or PM me with them. I should be able to let you know compared to mine whether or not the large pillows will work for you. For me the large works fine. I like to use rested gals one size up rule though, so I will get the XLs when they come out.

Machine