earache and cpap

[impatient]

I searched the forums to see if earaches caused by cpap is common and if there was a way to fix it. Looks like it is rather rare.
I was getting an earache in my left ear that got worse as the night went on. It would slowly stop hurting through the day.
I tried switching masks- did not help. I went without my cpap for a night or two and the earache cleared up completely. I went back on and it came back.
I thought that maybe I had an ear infection and that it would get better in a week or so.

After about 3 weeks, I finally lowered the peak autoset pressure from 9.4 to 9.0 and that helped a lot.

My theory on this is that when my head is turned at just the right angle that my eustachian tube opens up and lets the pressure of the cpap in. I think it is the in and out that eventually gets to it. Not so much the pressure alone. I have exhale pressure relief (EPR) set to 3 If it was the pressure alone then I would probably get earaches in both ears every night because the pressure would almost always slowly leak through the eustachian tubes. That is what they do as I understand it.

I think the transient nature of this issue may cause it to be underreported. And if that is the case I would like to ask other forum users if they have ever had this, and if they did anything to fix it. And also ask the experts running around here if I am off base on my observations.

[Doubtful Tom]

Yeah, I remember reading about this problem listed in some cpap literature as potential side effectbefore starting therapy, but forgot about it after experiencing no problems first month or so. In last week, however, I've had a couple of nights where I woke up with moderate ear ache, same ear both times. But it stopped shortly after rising. As you suggest, I suspect it is a transient problem that may come and go based on factors other than cpap. tom

[HoseCrusher]

I ran into having an itch deep in my left ear after starting on xPAP therapy. I took the rather controversial method of adding a very small amount of sea salt to my humidifier water. I am using .2 grams of salt per liter of water. I am using this mostly for nasal congestion, but did notice that the itch went away too.

I am unable to find any science on this, so the fact that it helped me should be considered anecdotal and it may simply be a placebo effect. So, while it works great for me in reliving the itch and nasal congestion, I am unable to provide any papers that show similar results with larger numbers of people.

Caution: Humidifier manufacturers do not recommend adding anything to the water used in the humidifier.

Caution: Spilling water that has a small amount of salt in it can do more damage to your machine than just plain water, but it is recommended to not spill any water on or in the machine.

Caution: Since trace amounts of salt are going deep into your lungs it is important to use a highly pure salt. I use aquarium salt that is used for freshwater fish.

[impatient]

Thanks for the replies.

The earache is back. But now I am thinking it is my TMJ jaw joint. It hurts to chew. I think that it was the jaw all along and that the pain was referred to my ear.

My teeth don't seem to line up like they used to. It's like my bite is off.

This is all scaring me and I think it is time for a trip to the doctor or dentist. I read one post implying the TMJ pain could become permanent.