Mouth full of pressurized air

[bigla6940]

I am a newbie to this CPAP and forum, being on CPAP therapy for 2 months. I have a Res Med Air Sense 11. Currently using a nasal pillow after discarding 3 different face and nose masks because of leaking. The nasal pillow was working just fine for 2+ weeks. All of a sudden, in the past few nights, I find my mouth full of pressurized air. This woke me up a few times during the night. If my mouth was open it wouldn't fill up and I use a chin strap. My events per hour have gone up from 2-3 to 4-5 since this started happening. Here are my results from last night:

Events 5.9/hr, Pressure 11.8, Leak 18L/min, AHI 5.9, Obstructive AI 0.0, Total AI 2.1

Has anyone else had this issue? Any suggestions? If this is the wrong thread for this, please advise.
Thanks

[Miss Emerita]

Welcome! When you have a moment, could you complete your profile with information about your machine and mask? That way it'll be there whenever someone reads one of your posts.

When you mouth fills with air, do your cheeks balloon out some? That's pretty common; it's sometimes called "chipmunk cheeks." What will help is to train your tongue to block off your mouth as air travels from your nose down to your lungs.

So try this: Put the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth. Then position the main part of your tongue up against your upper palate. Finally, give a little suck or swallow to create a bit of suction. You should now be able to open your mouth while breathing entirely through your nose. Practice this during the day, and see if you can get it grooved in deeply enough to help while you are asleep at night.

I learned this tip from other people on this forum, and after some daytime practice, I totally solved the problem.

[bigla6940]

Thank you Miss Emerita, I will try that. I did update my equipment. I also have a lifelong bad habit of holding my breath. If I am holding my breath and the air is coming in under pressure, there is nowhere to go except my mouth and cheeks.

[Miss Emerita]

Thanks for filling out your profile! If you really hold your breath, air wouldn't be going into either your mouth or your lower airway. You can experiment by deliberately holding your breath and seeing whether your mouth fills up with air.

[bigla6940]

If pressurized air is coming into my nose and I am not exhaling it, it would seem that the air would fill up my mouth. I could be wrong. I have a visit with my pulmonologist soon and will talk with him too. Thanks for your input.

[Miss Emerita]

When you inhale and then hold your breath, the air is down in your lungs. It wouldn’t go into your mouth.