Design fault with the Aloha pillow mask

[DJL]

I have been struggling with mask leaks and could not work out why they were increasing a lot at some parts of the night and at zero for hours other parts of the night. During the night I felt some air blowing and it was not from the pillows against my nose or out of the vent on the elbow, it seem to be coming from the swivel joint.
So this morning I got a bowl of water and using the mask test function on the Resmed S9, I sealed the pillow holes and put the mask into a bowl of water up to the elbow vent. By moving the swivel joint around and then in and out, I noticed a large increase/decrease in air escaping depending on the position of the swivel joint. This would account for zero leaks for hours at a time and the times and when it increased is when I moved my head into another position which must push/pull the swivel joint and open up the gap between the socket and ball parts of the swivel joint.
Buying a CpapMAX pillow about ten days ago has reduced the maximum leaks because I have been put less pressure directly on the elbow, but there must still be some pressure
from the tube pushing on the swivel joint.
While trying to stop my leaks I could never feel any air blowing past the pillow/nose interface. In the past I had tested the interface by push my face into my old pillow and just moving around generally and could not get leaks from the interface.
Has anyone else noticed times from their data recordings where they have zero leaks for hours followed by times of continuous levels of high leaks?

Dave

[chunkyfrog]

Dave, have you experimented with different schemes of hose management?
Some masks are more sensitive to hose position.
My hose hangs overhead, and I adjust the amount of "lift" from time to time, depending on what my mask is doing.
Once again, it's a kind of dance . . .

[herefishy]

You ought to be able to find some material that would seal that joint, yet still allow it to rotate.

[kaiasgram]

Has anyone else noticed times from their data recordings where they have zero leaks for hours followed by times of continuous levels of high leaks?

I haven't experienced this Dave. I've used several Aloha masks this past year and none have produced the pattern you're seeing. I'm wondering if it's just an issue with the one you're using, not with the model overall.

[ReadyforRest]

I haven't had that problem with my Aloha mask either, and this is my second one, plus I've replaced the nasal pillows (barrel part) many times. I use the cpapmax pillow like you do, too. Like kaiasgram said, could it be possible that you have a faulty mask?

I HAVE found that after washing the mask, it can be difficult to get the barrel section to lock in properly to the short hose connection (which is ... I think ... the area you are talking about that loses it's seal ?). If you don't have those two parts snapped in tightly, and it takes some fiddling, then yes you would have leaks.

But it sounds like you do have them locked in correctly, just that it leaks at that joint when it's swivelled into certain positions.

I also use a hose holder, and feed the short hose up over my head through the velcro tab on top. That allows me to turn over in bed and the hose doesn't drag on the mask, so no leaks are caused that way. I'll have very short 2 sec. leaks a few times a night, but rarely do I have prolonged leaks and when I do, they're low leaks, not high ones.

Wish I could be more help.

[Issac]

I haven't seen that problem from the Aloha myself, but if you think you have one that isn't right, call the Innomed company and get it replaced. I did that once with a nasal aire and got a new nose piece. They're real good about it. Try running water through it with the pillows blocked and see if water leaks out the area.

[DJL]

Issac,
I did block off the pillow openings and lowered it into a bowl of water (attached to APAP machine) up to the elbow vent holes, I then rotated and pulled the elbow away from the main body. The air leaks between the elbow and body increased a lot, so if you can keep the elbow pressed in the air flow would be reduced.
I thought about sealing the gap between the elbow and body, but I am not sure if the manufacturer has used this air leakage in the design to keep the air circulation/venting and maybe there could be a build up of bad air during the night if I sealed it.

Dave