3rd night on CPAP and not sleeping

[nonsleeper]

Hi Everyone!
I am on my third night of sleeping with my CPAP machine and i have a question! When my machine is on the level prescribed by the doctor, i can hear myself breathing in and it sounds like snoring. I know it's NOT snoring because I've tested it while awake holding my breath to see if the noise stops and it does.
My air setting is a constant 6 but when i ramp up on 4 I do not hear the breathing sound. The breathing sound is waking me up and not allowing me to sleep. It's a constant annonoyance.. I have a petite face mask so I don't know if the pillow would work better? This is the same mask i used in my sleep study and i had no problems. My mask also has an air vent so it's difficult to tell at night if my mask is not sealed or not. Any ideas on how to solve this issue would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!
nonsleeper

[So Well]

Please fill out your equipment profile (text not images).

What was your diagnosis? What is your general health? Any other health problems?

Your description of the sound is not clear to me. It is unlikely you are snoring while awake.

Is the "snoring sound" coming from your body? The mask? The hose? The machine?

[Janknitz]

The sound you're hearing is probably conducted noise of the air moving through your hose. There are a few things that help:

1. A hose cover can dampen the noise. Padacheecks mask liner helps too.
2. If your hose is resting on your pillow or mattress, they will magnify the sound. A hose hanger may help.
3. Some of the noise is conducted in the bones of your own head, so earplugs won't help. White noise can mask it though. I use an iPod with one earbud. Some people use a sound machine or a fan in the room to mask the noise.
4. Some masks are noisier than others.
5. Tincture of time: your sensitivity to the sound will decrease over time. I have to really pay attention now to hear it, but it took me many months to get to this point.

[archangle]

Do you have a humidifier?

You might be describing the sound of water in your hose.

Being careful not to spill water out of the end, pull the hose off of your machine and hold the end up. Then try to see if there's any water in the hose. You can hold the ends up in a U shape and see if there's water in the middle. You can then work the bottom of the U to one end of the hose and pour the water out.

Please fill out your equipment profile and we can give you better answers, especially about the mask.

[Ms Piggy]

when i used my old Remstar machine as a newbie I noticed a lot of noise but found it cut the sound down when I hooked it up to the
humidifier even though I didn't bother to put water in it. give that a try anyway to see if it helps you. Since then I have always hooked up the humidifier either with or without water as I still notice more noise if I don't do that.

[avi123]

I don't understand this language: "ramp up on 4" (My air setting is a constant 6 but when i ramp up on 4 I do not hear the breathing sound)

It could be the None- Rebreathing valve at the bottom of the mask.

[codinqueen]

Try to wear your mask for awhile in the evening, maybe while watching TV if you can see it with your mask on, with the XPAP machine on, to try to get "used to it". You might have 30 days from delivery for your DME to exchange masks for you until you find one you like that also fits, so you might start thinking about that too. I have a Swift FX nasal pillow mask, and it is not noisy to me or my hubby, unless it is leaking or I open my mouth during sleep. It rarely leaks, unless the straps move when I turn, and be assured that you will notice vents on all the masks. If I were you, I would also call the DME to see if they have any suggestions. They might want to check the machine with you wearing the mask and the machine on, to make sure the machine is functioning correctly. It is important to do this early on in treatment, for sleep quality, and since if you have insurance, most ins companies will ask for the SD card after a certain amt of time, so they can make sure you are wearing it a certain number of hours per night. If you are not compliant with your Drs' orders for treatment, they might refuse to pay their share for your CPAP and the supplies for it, leaving you to pay the whole bill.
I hope you get it figured out soon, you obviously need some quality sleep!!!