Hybrid vs Liberty masks - your opinion please!!

[ozij]

I've never tried the Liberty.

Poll for women using full face masks and hybrids

If my experience is anything to go by, all full face masks need a lot of fiddling about with before they serve you.

And mask fitting instruction should be read / viewed again and again.

Correct hose routing turned out to be crucial for me to use the Hybrid successfully - once I got the hose direction right, I started sleeping very happily with the Hybrid. (I use the Hozer).

My experience was similar to BlackSpinner's - some night's of major struggle, then finding the right fit.

I'd start with the Hybrid simply because if you're wrong, you'll have lost less money than if you're about the Liberty. You can always get the Liberty of the Hybrid doesn't work out.

O.

[SleepingUgly]

Ozij, with the Hozer, do you need any "fixes" for the Hybrid?

[wjp]

I have both, but strongly prefer the Hybrid.

The chin cup really helps in getting it adjusted.

Without a chin cup, the Liberty tends to put most of the pressure on the upper lip. I find my top teeth actually hurt in the morning from the continuous pressure.

[ozij]

Ozij, with the Hozer, do you need any "fixes" for the Hybrid?

I don't need any fixes for the nasal pillows.

I do need fixes for the strap marks under my cheek bones - I've discovered that padding created by inserting a pair of thin cotton socks, between my the straps and my face works best. I'm a side sleeper, Padacheek's upper straps weren't wide enough to solve the strap marks problem in my case, so I only use the bottom ones. My padding gives the Hybrid a "fatter face" to handle - it seems to work well.

The Hozer guides the hose to my face in a J shape (my cpap is in a drawer, which gets pulled out for night service) the Hozer is at about elbow distance from my head. This gives me maneuverability, without having the exhaust hit the hose.
And I don't drop the hose from the end of the Hozer, but rather from somewhere in the middle of the 3rd joint --when I'm at home. Where exactly of course depends on the relative position of the hose, the machine and your head.

[goldfinch]

It is very individual. I bought the Hybrid online out of pocket. the Liberty was from the DME. I only buy online now because my DME and I had a falling out. (I didn't want to pay his prices). Since I buy online which means out of pocket (Thanks O'care) I really wanted the Hybrid to work but no such luck.

Having to pay out of pocket for your online purchases has absolutely nothing to do with what some call Obamacare. It has to do with how insurance companies chose to work and what online companies do or want to do. Obamacare is a frequent scapegoat for insurance company issues that long predate Obamacare.

I am a retired lobbyist on health care issues who represented consumer--not business or insurance company--interests. There are a multitude of problems with the reform package we got, but far too many wrong assumptions are made about Obamacare.

Sorry for the digression.

[Muse-Inc]

Have both, could never get the Liberty to seal. Seems as if one fits/seals well, the other won't.

For those who like the Hybrid but get leaks, have you tried Mack's swimmers' ear plugs? They're made of squishy silicon that is easily rolled into a narrow-diameter log then flattened to use where the leak is. I have 'touchy' skin and didn't find it irritating. Pulls off the silicon cushion & the hard shell pretty easy. I have one oral cushion that seems to leak where it inserts into the hard-shell channel -- Mack's makes a good seal. I got mine at WalMart near the pharmacy.