The "great idea" dilemma

One of the last things I read before going to bed in the near dawn hours was this forum. Proably why as I was drifting in and out of sleep I came up with what seemed to me to be a great idea for an item that could prove useful to many people who snore and/or have sleep apnea, either with or without CPAP treatment. It would help address some of the most common issues people face with CPAP treatment and could reduce the need for some other external aids frequently recommended. While I am not comfortable divulging the product, I will say it could help with 1) Keeping the tongue out the throat 2) Maintaining a seal between the tongue and the roof of the mouth to keep treatment air from escaping out the mouth, and 3) Stopping the jaw from going slack. It's not rocket science, just a common sense assistive item. Now I'm torn. Wondering if I should...

1. Make a DIY YouTube video and monetize it, hoping to help some people and make a few pennies.
2. Describe it on here and hope a few people find it in the archives over time.
3. Pursue making a prototype and looking into the feasibility of making it a business venture and reaching a wider audience.
4. Shop my idea to an existing business for partnering.

The impulsive part of me wants to in my enthusiasm just blurt it all out, but the business (and broke) part of me says to be sensible and that it could be an opportunity for me and not to give opportunists a chance to take my idea and run with it. I have the people around me who could pull all aspects off - website/e-commerce progrmmers, marketing, shipping etc. The hardest part would be researching design and production, but not impossible. Thinking just because I can doesn't necessarily mean I should. Should I recreate the wheel when others have many of these pieces in place? Any words of wisdom, particularly from anyone who has followed an idea through to fruition? btw Over 20 years ago I had an idea for a women's hygiene product, had sketches of it and a marketing plan. Was encouraged by a businesswoman friend to pursue it, but allowed myself to be punked out by just being a small town girl in a sea of big businesses. Daggone if I didn't just see an ad cross my Facebook this week of an item very similar to my old idea. Didn't know whether to laugh or kick myself.

One of the biggest pains is the patent process. It is not quick, nor inexpensive unless you happen to have a patent attorney in the family.

IMHO, you're not going to launch any mechanical product without sinking 30 to 50k into it. That is just a start, but YMMV.
Good luck whatever you decide!

I think it's a great idea... don't let people talk you out of it before you even research more - if an idea is worthwhile, somehow you'll find the money!

You might want to find people, either here or otherwise, to really kick it around with, maybe go further yourself into design, etc. (do you have CAD on your machine?), and/or talk to biomechanics people in hospitals who make e.g. prostheses for people - I know yours will be relatively small, but it doesn't hurt to get an idea of what might be involved start-to-finish with †he type of thing. Make pro and con lists... etc, etc. Fpr starters. you might want to PM PR - I think he'd be a good place to start = he knows a lot about a lot

And Good luck!

An idea not executed on and brought to life is stillborn and worthless.

Until you actually test an executed idea, you cannot really assess its value, because you don’t know with certainty how well it works, if it works at all: you may think you do, and in theory, everything works in theory, but in practice, theory often doesn’t work out as well as hoped. It’s all too common to have missed one or more details that only become clear with proper testing.

I’ve developed and playtested a large number of card and board games (not bothered to try to get them published professionally yet) and I have a large number of games with their rules I haven’t found the time and people to playtest yet, so as much as those untested games I’d like to think will work as expected, my experience is sometimes even with what seems like a super simple game concept and rules absolutely has to work, testing shows reality is a harsh mistress. Some have worked out better than expected, and some unanticipated emergent properties became apparent, on the flip side.

If you sincerely believe it will work and be of value, go for it, while also perhaps hedging your bets by searching as best you can to see if it doesn’t already exist. Don’t be afraid of failure, embrace it: failure isn’t an option, it’s a standard feature, and has value so long as you learn from it. If you don’t pursue it, this idea will just eat you over time over what could have been.