Advice a Quiet Cpap Machine

[SleepyT]

My machine is the quietest, I believe...according to the available comparisons...ResMed Elite II....and it's data capable.

[roster]

..... Noise is easy to deal with. A lack of efficacy data isn't.

Good one TLG!

[WhoKnew]

Since I don't know what part of Canada you live in, it's hard to advise re:places to get your CPAP. I have an Elite II, and it's very quiet. I know that Shopper's Drug Marts have a medical equipment supply divisions and they handle some brands of CPAP machines. Sleep Management Group, offices in London, Oakville, Toronto, Kitchener, and Thornhill Ontario, VitalAire, are a few that spring to mind. You may also have local medical supply companies that will be able to show you some equipment. Remember to get a machine that is data capable. Oh, and you can buy online as well. Keep reading. You'll see the same brands and models popping up regularly. Good luck in your search.

[Terminator]

I've bought all my stuff in the US via mail order and suggest you consider that for yourself unless you have a plan that covers the residuals. Personally, I like the idea of just buying it myself so the DME can't feed at the trough. DMEs in Ontario, Canada seem to think they have a captive audience to the extent that they'll screw you mercilessly and not even thank you for bending over. My Swift mask; more than 200 dollars in Canada, $89.00USD in the US, so about $95 Canadian plus shipping. The DME (Medigas) was going to charge 1040 dollars for an entry level CPAP with no data capability that isn't even in production anymore that I found online for 250.00USD. I ended up buying the machine in my sig line for 275.00USD. I won't be able to claim any of this on my insurance, but Medigas isn't going to get their 780 dollar freebie at the public trough either. No good bunch of swine...

T

[Froro]

I would steer clear of Sleep Management in Oakville/Mississauga personally. Only one of the staff there seemed to have any concept or clue in my dealings there.

I have been getting advice from the sleep clinic/dme located in Credit Valley Hosp with more success.

[roster]

...... No good bunch of swine...

T

I think swine are covered under NAFTA: they can operate on either side of the border.

[Mtnviewer]

I'd think that nearly any newish machine would be quiet BUT the movement of air makes sound DEPENDING on the air pressure as well as one's breathing. In other words, to interpret a Mfg's noise claims of xyz decibels, you need to find out at what pressure setting those measurements were done at and at what distance from the machine where they measured? The sound coming from a PAP machine will likely be more dependant on the level of air pressure.

For me, the sound of air movement is loud enough at higher pressures to be annoying, and the Sandman specs are pretty good on the noise scale, so it's one of the quiet machines. I'd think that any machine at pressure 12-20 is going to be loud enough. If you use a pressue of 6-8, then you won't hear much unless the machine is in the open and right beside you. I put my machine on a shelf beside my bed with the hose an AC cord going through the side wall and that wall of the shelf keeps the air sounds lower.

I live in Canada and went to one "local" DME but was shocked at the price for a low end machine and poor service during my trial period. I also had to buy the mask that I tried and it was the only one that they let me even look at and which did not work for me either, so they ripped me off for $120 IMO. So I instead I told them to forget about my business and so bought online from cpapauction.com and cpap.com and would do it again over any DME. I also save A LOT of money. No problem at all getting gear to Canada and in a timely manner.

Tell your DME that they need to be more competative and to offer better service and that you'll be buying online from cpap.com because they are competative and do offer great service. cpap.com's website has far more info on PAP therapy and equipment than any DME will give you. I also chose and fit my mask via CPAP.com's fitting guide and it worked out very well.

[firyspell]

[quote="Mtnviewer"]I'd think that nearly any newish machine would be quiet BUT the movement of air makes sound DEPENDING on the air pressure as well as one's breathing. In other words, to interpret a Mfg's noise claims of xyz decibels, you need to find out at what pressure setting those measurements were done at and at what distance from the machine where they measured? The sound coming from a PAP machine will likely be more dependant on the level of air pressure.

For me, the sound of air movement is loud enough at higher pressures to be annoying, and the Sandman specs are pretty good on the noise scale, so it's one of the quiet machines. I'd think that any machine at pressure 12-20 is going to be loud enough. If you use a pressue of 6-8, then you won't hear much unless the machine is in the open and right beside you. I put my machine on a shelf beside my bed with the hose an AC cord going through the side wall and that wall of the shelf keeps the air sounds lower.

I live in Canada and went to one "local" DME but was shocked at the price for a low end machine and poor service during my trial period. I also had to buy the mask that I tried and it was the only one that they let me even look at and which did not work for me either, so they ripped me off for $120 IMO. So I instead I told them to forget about my business and so bought online from cpapauction.com and cpap.com and would do it again over any DME. I also save A LOT of money. No problem at all getting gear to Canada and in a timely manner.


hey, thanks for ur input. i am in toronto, Canada.... this forum has been of great help.
i talked to one of Resmed"s representative and he offered me ADP 75 % plus $375 for Autoset 2.
do anyone has some idea about criteria for Auto machine which is different than a basic machine and our ADP form that covers only basic machine plus extra wht home care companies charge.

thanks

[pagebypage]

You can get accustomed to the noise. I think my machines are pretty quiet. My OT put me on a loaner to do the software tests since my machines don't have the software. It made a horrible high pitched sound that kept me awake. I put it aside for a few days and tried again and was able to sleep and complete the study at home.
Another trick is to get a longer hose (8 ft.) and put the machine on the floor or under your bed.

[El Pap]

to interpret a Mfg's noise claims of xyz decibels, you need to find out at what pressure setting those measurements were done at and at what distance from the machine where they measured?

I don't think you do. There is a testing standard, ISO 17510-1, that all of the equipment manufacturers use to rate the noise level of their machines, so that you can compare apples to apples. (The test is at 10 cm water at 1 meter)

[jdm2857]

It' just amazing -- the things ISO and ANSI have standards for.

[Mtnviewer]

Good to know that there is a noise standard measurement for at least a pressure of 10. But couldn't that leave the rest of the scale 1-9 and 11-20+ vary substantially from machine to machine for noise levels? For example: lots of cars are nearly silent at idle or RPM's up to 2,000 or so, but after that, engine noise levels can vary wildly. I'd think that there are several problems recommending a particular machine: 1)who, if anyone, has tried all the different newer machines available at the varying air pressures that poster is needing to use, 2) and perhaps even more problematic is the difference with hearing from person to person for anyone to make the best recommendation on what is a quiet machine anyway, 3) noise sensitivity varies from person to person as well as hearing. So one person may think that the standard of 10 cm's is very quiet, but another person may not.

If I were seriously looking and if the noise level were a deal breaker for me, then I'd try to listen to various machines myself at the air pressures that I'd be using. But I'd only recommend doing this AFTER you figure out the many other variables that you might have with PAP therapy, unless of course noise is #1 on your list (vs. sleep). Curbing machine noise is pretty easy as you can just put the machine in a box and add some foam around it. Getting the right pressure to work MOST of the time, a mask that dosen't leak much or at all, no nose bridge sores, dry mouth, hose rain out and most of all getting some rest from PAP therapy, are for most people more important and moving targets. Again, machine noise is pretty easy to muffle in comparison to all else that you'll have to solve with PAP therapy.

I can also say that with my own "generally" OK PAP therapy (every night and day are a bit different in terms of success and rest and I'm still trying to figure things out), that I mostly sleep more soundly than previously without PAP, so sound isn't as much of an irritant or a disturbance as it once was before CPAP.