Aura....a beautiful thing

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
PEELS
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 6:32 am
Location: Georgia

Post by PEELS » Sat Mar 18, 2006 12:51 pm

I have been using the Aura for about two months and it works well for me. Fairly comfortable and I read with it on wearing my glasses outside the mask. I first used the Ultra Mirage FF mask and the Activa nasal mask and the Aura is by far the most comfortable.

One thing is mouth breathing. I was a mouth breather and I thought I had myself trained to keep my mouth closed after a few weeks using tape. Lately, however my AHI has been averaging between 9 to 12 per night with a pressure of 10 to 14 cm (titrated at 16). Unfortunately, none of my masks did well at the higher pressures once I got above 12 cm. I wake up and just know I have been leaking air out of my mouth. Two days ago I tried a chin strap and what a difference. My AHI went down to 2.5 the first night and 3.9 the second night (both my lowest readings) and my average leak rate with the Aura had been between 36 and 39. I was 19 the last two nights with the chin strap.

For me the Aura is the most comfortable of all my masks but I need to wear a chin strap. The results, however, are wonderful.

Jerry - it doesn't matter what mask you try as you seem to do great with all your masks. Your AHI numbers have always impressed me and I'll probably never get mine as low as yours. 0.3 AHI is phenomenal!

George