Breathing Noise from Swift Nasal Pillows and C-Flex

[Jerry69]

Hey, folks,

It went really good last night: to bed at 11:15 and slept soundly until 4:15 when I got up to pee. Getting use to the noise, so I got back to sleep quickly and slept until 7:15. Each night gets better.

My CPAP and I may become friends. What a turn around from three nights ago. Our bodies are very adaptable, aren't they.

Hope this progress report helps some of you that are just starting.

Jerry

[rested gal]

Hope this progress report helps some of you that are just starting.

Jerry

Your progress report brightens the day even for some who are not just starting. Good news is always nice to hear!

[frostman]

Does this bother anyone else? I used REMstart pro 2 with C-Flex and ResMed Mirage Swift Nasal Pillows System last night. It was my first night on CPAP. Very disappointing night. The air sounds from the pillow system were loudest, but the CPAP machine with C-flex also made air sounds in concert with my breathing. Very disconcerting.

Been following your progress. Sounds like you are settling in. I switch off between my swift and and my activa. The swift is definetly louder, my next mask will be a pillow system that has proven to be the quietest. The cflex is great, when I first go to bed it seems loud, but when I relax it seems to settle down

[cinnabar]

Jerry, what pressure setting was prescribed for your CPAP? In my experience, the amount of noise the Swift mask makes is very much a function of the CPAP pressure setting. The speed of the air exiting the exhalation holes is the culprit; the higher the pressure, the higher the speed. My Swift "quiets down" at pressures below 9. At pressures above 10, it starts to "roar."

(NOTE: If you use the SEARCH function to review past postings on this excellent forum, you'll find some suggestions on how you can experiment with Swift mask noise reduction. But BE CAREFUL!)

When I started with my Swift, I was on a fixed CPAP setting of 8 and the noise was constant. Then I moved to an APAP system, with a setting range of 4 to 12. During my "awake" time (ie, while I'm falling asleep), when the system is operating at the lower end of the prescribed range, there is virtually no noise from the mask. During the night, when the pressure ramps up during therapy, the noise level increases. But unless I wake up for some reason, I never notice it because I'm asleep by then.

Which is the whole point of the exercise, of course.

[Jerry69]

Jerry, what pressure setting was prescribed for your CPAP? In my experience, the amount of noise the Swift mask makes is very much a function of the CPAP pressure setting. The speed of the air exiting the exhalation holes is the culprit; the higher the pressure, the higher the speed. My Swift "quiets down" at pressures below 9. At pressures above 10, it starts to "roar."

Cinnabar,

I'm almost embarrassed to say: My C-Flex machine is set for 6 cm. After reading the posts here, I realize that is child's play. I shouldn't have any complaints about noise, should I. But, I swear, that first night I almost had a panic attack. Fortunately, I'm getting over the noise thing.

A lot of people on this forum use the Swift, don't they. I've no experience with anything else, except the night in the sleep lab when I wore a nasal mask. But, it seems that the Swift would be less obtrusive than most masks? Mine stays in place and seals extremely well.

[JPZ]

I have the same setup, and find the exhaust noise from the pillows is noticeable, but not the sound of the machine, except when the tube from the humidifier is not properly aligned with the gasket on the machine.

The latter thing is worth checking tonight, I think.

[Jerry69]

Bear with me folks. As I said in previous posts, I'm going to continue these reports for a while to document my progress with CPAP. Hope it helps some of you beginners.

To bed at 11:15 and up at 1:30 and 4:00 for bathroom trips. I was able to get back to sleep in each case rather quickly. When I awoke at 6:45, I just got up. (I'm retired, so I don't have to get up at any particular time.

When I got up, I noticed that my nose was pretty stopped up. The Swift nasal pillow interface is pretty good at blowing past nose congestion, but maybe all masks are because of the nature of CPAP?

I still listen to the "breathing sounds" before dropping off to sleep, but I think my breathing is more natural than when first starting CPAP. I think I took long, deep inhales and exhales when I started because I was listening to the rhythm. I was consciously forcing this pattern. Now, I try not to consciously do anything and let my body instincts control the breathing rhythm. Although, sometimes, I find it helpful to just give a short, forceful exhale, a snort, if you will, to take control, to assert. Make any sense?

My nose has cleared up, now, as I sit typing, less than an hour after getting up. (I didn't turn the heat back on the humidifier after my last bathroom trip at 4:00. The moister air that would have resulted may have helped keep my nose open.)

Am I getting too analytical. I am an engineer, after all, and it is easy for me to become a little anal, or "cranial."

Anyway, my 5th night on CPAP was not as great as I would have liked, but I probably shouldn't attribute all unrest totally to CPAP. The bathroom trips, nasal congestion, and some digestive discomfort would have contributed to unrest without CPAP...and then there would have been some OSA events to further denigrate my rest.

I'm doing okay folks and my wife says she is going to come back to our bed to sleep tonight. She says the reason she hasn't is because I told her I had to turn the light on to get the Swift back on after bathroom trips. So, last night, I just left the Swift on and unplugged it from the supply hose, quickly turning off the machine to prevent the rush of air from the hose. I, also, think I can turn the machine off and then remove the mask and get it back on in the dark. It's pretty simple. Only two straps and one has the air tube fastened to it, so I'm sure I can get it back on in the dark if I choose to take it off.

Happy CPAP'n,

Jerry

[Jerry69]

I have the same setup, and find the exhaust noise from the pillows is noticeable, but not the sound of the machine, except when the tube from the humidifier is not properly aligned with the gasket on the machine.

The latter thing is worth checking tonight, I think.

Thanks, JPZ. I did check to make sure the humidifier was inserted into the machine. But, I can still hear the machine "breathing." It is not a loud noise by any stretch, just a low, smooth swooshing.


Jerry

[HeidiHose]

[quote="cinnabar"]Jerry, what pressure setting was prescribed for your CPAP? In my experience, the amount of noise the Swift mask makes is very much a function of the CPAP pressure setting. The speed of the air exiting the exhalation holes is the culprit; the higher the pressure, the higher the speed. My Swift "quiets down" at pressures below 9. At pressures above 10, it starts to "roar."

(NOTE: If you use the SEARCH function to review past postings on this excellent forum, you'll find some suggestions on how you can experiment with Swift mask noise reduction. But BE CAREFUL!)

When I started with my Swift, I was on a fixed CPAP setting of 8 and the noise was constant. Then I moved to an APAP system, with a setting range of 4 to 12. During my "awake" time (ie, while I'm falling asleep), when the system is operating at the lower end of the prescribed range, there is virtually no noise from the mask. During the night, when the pressure ramps up during therapy, the noise level increases. But unless I wake up for some reason, I never notice it because I'm asleep by then.

Which is the whole point of the exercise, of course.

[Apneaat22]

I am a few days ahead of you on my Swift I think as I started last week. I am at 11 cm and had some questions about the noise initially. I first went to earplugs for the exhaust noise but then like you have talked about theres the in the head noise from breathing. I have done away with the earplugs as I am getting used to things more. What I have done is set my Ramp pressue to 7 to allow me to be able to breath (I cant if the pressue is too low), this lets me get to sleep as it is very quiet and it gets louder as I sleep. If I wake up, which I have been at 3 am every morning as mentioned in another post, I just hit the ramp again and off to sleep I go. This has worked pretty well.

I had asked the question the other day about an updated swift system that I had read about on another message board. I emailed Resmed and they tell me there has not been any updates to the Swift. They do mention at the end of the email that it is not recommended for high pressures.

I am not sure where the line is drawn for High pressue but from what I can tell when playing with the Ramp, it defenately jumps in volumn once it hits a certain pressue. As for 18 I think it will be quiet loud, though some people on here with high pressue have mentioned they dont mind.

I am starting to like the noise, keeps me from hearing the creeks and cracks in my house that usually wake me up at night.

Apnea@22

[Snoozie]

Jerry,

My CPap is also set on 6. I use mostly the small pillow and it is not very noisy, but when I switch to the medium which I use sometimes (rarely) use, it definitely makes more noise than the small and seems to blow more air out. Don't know why the difference. I am trying to figure out by using the 2 of them which makes me feel better in the morning. I seem to feel better when using the medium vs the small, even though it blows more air, but can't explain why.

[Jerry69]

I slept almost 11 hours last night! I was tired and was dozing off on the sofa, so I just went to bed. I played games (Pickleball. Ever hear of that?) twice yesterday and drank a lot of beer with the boys after the second time. I'm 69 and retired in a community where we retirees play games most of the time...and drink some beer. Good life.

I went to bed at 8:30. Got up at 11 and 3 for bathroom trips. Went back to sleep "normally" after each bathroom trip. Still takes me longer to drop off when I first go to bed becuase of the amplified breathing noise the CPAP apparatus emits. I suppose I don't notice this as much after a bathroom trip.

I think I'd like a second mask to switch with my Swift, occasionally. I've read on this forum that many of you do that. How about the Activa?

In summary, I've adapted pretty well in just one week. I hope you beginners find this encouraging, and those of you that have not been so fortunate, I would just say, "be patient," as I was told.

I'll give you a report after my visit to the sleep doc next Thursday. Will he be able to read my card and tell me how many OSA events I am having or is that something that only an auto machine can record?

I'm not going to spell check or preview this post. This site has been hanging when I try to do that and i've lost all, even though I used COPY to guard against it. I don't understand that, but I lost all this morning and had to re-start IE. Then, when I tried PASTE it didn't paste.

Thanks, all,

Jerry

[WAFlowers]

Jerry, I just read your story as I was catching up from a prolonged absences.

As you are already learning, you will adjust to the noise of the Swift. Much of this noise seems to be only heard by the wearer and not your bed partner ... thankfully!

You were wondering about the Swft and possibly other masks helping you breathe while congested. This is something that is true of nasal pillow (and probably nasal prong) systems. The positive air pressure intruduced only to the inside of you nostrils inflates and expands them slightly.

A "normal" nasal mask like the Activa you mentioned won't have that effect.

I've been using a Swift for 3+ months now, and most nights I'm not aware of any noise. I've also found that my body has become so used to xPAP that I have a Pavlovian reflex in place: when I put on the mask and turn on the machine, I fall asleep almost instantly even if I didn't feel particularly tired!

[Tumbleweed]

Hang in there, Jerry69!

All will get better fairly quickly.......... It's best to try and not "listen" to the noise, although I too, use the Swift and feel it's the quietest interface I've tried yet. Before the Swift, I had been using a Nasal Aire II and I think that was much noisier. Frankly, I don't even notice the noise or even the pressure change as I start everting up anymore.

An aside.......... I am also in Florida.............. over a couple of counties in Citrus. I work at the Marion County Animal Center as a contract veterinarian. I spent a year out of my field working for a pest control company out of Leesburg...... an hour commute every day. Much of my route was in The Villages, both sides of 441/27 and in most of the parts in all 3 countys. Small world, huh? Any advice or help I can lend, just ask!

[Barnaby]

HEY JERE AND TUMBLEWEED!!! We ought to start a florida chapter.. maybe call us the Florida Hosers Anyhow Jer..I use a nite light in the bathroom and it throws enuf of a glow to keep me able to manuver about the house in a dim lite. Try one of those somwhere and it will suprise you as to how much you can disern in the dark house when you awaken.
That should keep the missus from be aroused when you put the mask back on.

Barnaby in West Palm Beach