I can't sleep because of the noise

[BlackSpinner]

Why are some of us attacking someone who came to us asking for help? Nothing is accomplished by that other than making yourself look petty. We don't know what kind of machine and mask are involved. A leaky mask could make a louder noise than the typical air conditioner - especially if it is less than a foot from your ears. The new xPAP machines are pretty quiet, but the old ones were quite loud. A number of people have made excellent suggestions: figuring out the source of the noise, then moving the machine if it is the xPAP or changing/modifying the mask if it is the mask; getting custom earplugs; getting lightweight noise cancelling headphones; getting a white noise machine; and (a last result) having separate beds or bedrooms. I would add that if the source of the noise is the hose (unlikely for reasons mentioned above), then a hose muffler can serve the dual purpose of avoiding rainout and quieting the hose sounds.

There has been no attack. There have only been ideas and pointing out that leaving a bed with a lot of equipment attached when one is trying to stay healthy is detrimental to the therapy.

[kteague]

We cannot see any further into their lives than the glimpse we've been given. Maybe moving to another bed is not easier for her for some reason we are not privy to. And the wife's sleep is not less important than his. I agree with the posters who #1 suggest pinpointing the source of the noise for targeted tips, and #2 the idea that over time the brain will likely learn to accept the new sounds as a new normal. I had a friend who had trouble sleeping when her husband moved out because she had grown so accustomed to the sounds of his CPAP. Your issue is more about how to get through the adjustment phase with some sleep and your sanity intact. Unless you happen to be one who is so sensitive to sound that separate sleeping is the only solution. If that's the case, you certainly can't be faulted for how your brain and auditory system is wired. Good luck in finding solutions.

[49er]

Archangle,

The wife said in her initial post,
....

Making him sleep in the other room could kill him.

Grow up people! Enough people die already because they give up on CPAP. The wife kicking him out of the bedroom is a big psychological impact. It makes him feel unloved. It stresses the relationship. He doesn't need this at a time when he's making a difficult decision that is literally a matter of life and death.

Telling him to sleep in the other room makes it a lot more likely he'll give up, putting his life in danger.

For that matter, even going into another room to sleep yourself probably makes him more likely to give up, but it's probably less emotional than kicking him out and making it his fault.

Archangle,

With all due respect, people say alot of things in frustration that they don't mean. How about giving her the benefit of the doubt since she did take the step to ask for advice on this board and make several attempt to adjust to no avail?

And if she can't sleep and is non functional as a result, how does that help the relationship?

The issue is the guy needs the cpap for his health so he doesn't end up dead and the wife needs to be able to sleep and so far hasn't been in spite of trying everything to think of. Let's help them solve the problem from that perspective and keep the other stuff out of the equation.

49er

[kteague]

Edit - The wife, Zoocrew just wrote a very helpful post...
49er

WHAAAAAT?!?!?! Am I the only one who didn't know this?

[OhHelpMe]

Maybe "The Wife" is overly sensitive to noise because she has untreated sleep apnea.

OhHelpMe,

Can you say more about that? The reason I am asking is even before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I was always overly sensitive to noise. So that is why I am curious.

Thanks!

49er

The idea is simple: If you've got untreated OSA, then your body is naturally arousing multiple times an hour just to restart the breathing. If there is ambient noise, you're more likely to notice the noise in each arousal because you're already "partially" awake (due to the arousal). If you notice the noise during the OSA-related arousal, you're more likely to finish waking up and consciously become aware of the noise. And blame the noise for waking you up.

Maybe.

But people with untreated sleep apnea have excess cortisol in their bodies. Excess cortisol, at a minimum, makes you edgy. Being edgy makes you more sensitive to noises.

Not to mention that people with untreated sleep apnea are sleep deprived which makes you more sensitive to noise.

The probability of the wife having sleep apnea? Doesn't much of the population have it at some level of severity due to the design of our airways?

Of course recent machines are not noisy and if this one is, something is wrong in the equipment or the process.

[OhHelpMe]

Why are some of us attacking someone who came to us asking for help?

Someone needs to slap her out of her attitude that minor inconvenience for her is more important than her husband's health. Making him sleep somewhere else makes it that much more difficult for him to adjust. Many apneacs give up on CPAP and die.

This is life saving therapy, not some minor peccadillo like watching TV in bed.

"We’re not here to kick your butt, only to kick it if that’s what you need.”

"I am ready to tell him to sleep somewhere else."

"that stupid machine in the room"

Say that in front of a large group of CPAPers and expect some kicks. (Pixels of course. )

[bwexler]

I too have been complaining of the noise my PRS1 DS960TS has made since the first night I brought it home. It is still noisy and the noise bothers me but I am still 100% compliant. I can't go in the other room. I need to be with the machine.
My wife is less sensitive to the noise than I am. My machine sometimes reminds me of two very friendly cats.

I also find it interesting that the OP hasn't been back here since the first post.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could check up on the folks who post once and disappear. Do they put the machine in the closet, die, or ???

[DeadlySleep]

Do they put the machine in the closet, die, or ???

All five.

[palerider]

sweet as always... ain'tcha

Tough love.

How do you think she'll feel if he gives up on CPAP and then dies of something that might be due to untreated apnea?

who knows, it's starting to look like another drive by poke at the turkey farm anyway.

edit: good to see I was wrong.

[the wife]

Thank you everyone who posted ideas to help. We will try each of them. He is currently using a new transcend ezex with a mirage (the one that fits on his nose). With his old machine he had to use a chin strap so that he did not snore with the sleep apnea machine. He tried a full face mask when he got the Transcend machine, but it squealed. If you ladies and gentleman have any other ideas to try to help the situation, please let me know. The current noise is a loud whoosh out and a louder whoosh in and occasionally a loud squeal.

To those of you who blasted me...thanks a lot, and I hope you never have to ask for help. Perhaps I could have worded my response differently as I am the one who gets up each night. He can sleep in the other available bed in the house, but our bed is the only one that is comfortable for me because of some health issues that I have -- hence the statement that I am thinking of making him sleep somewhere else. It never would have been a middle of the night decision, but a well thought out decision made by both of us. I am trying everything I can -- including making myself open to your criticism -- to try to keep us in the same room.

I have struggled through his snoring for many years and now through his sleep apnea for the last three years. I am the one who gets up and goes to the other room each night...and I have been for years. I understand that he needs the machine as I am the one who finally convinced him to go get tested, and I am the one who has required him to continue to use the machine nightly. He would have quit a long time ago and often suggests that he could start out without it. I tell him that he has to use it...even though I knew that I might get less sleep.

I have tried everything that I knew of to do before asking you guys for help. Earplugs, pillows on my ears, fans, other noises, etc. The problem is that I am a very auditory person, so even a fan in the same room is disruptive to my sleep. When I tried to sleep with noise canceling headphones, I would wake up with a headache because I never really got rest. When I tried to sleep with music, I would always wake up in the morning exhausted. As it stands, I get a full night sleep only about every 4 days when I am so exhausted that I can finally sleep or when he is not home.

[the wife]

49er

Would you pease let me know the name of the post by zoocrew?

[Captain_Midnight]

I did not like the noise from my machine for the first few days.

Then, unexpectedly, I found myself liking it; sort of like waves lapping at the beach. 8 years later, no change, I still like it, and look forward to it.

We had a post right here on this site a few years ago by an apneic patient who went out and bought a new, quieter machine because he worried about the noise it was making for dw. After a few days w the new machine, dw asked him to use the former machine, as she was so accustomed to the sound that she found herself missing the relaxing "noise".

Setting aside the above, the xpap circuit makes noise in two places, the machine inlet (the fan and motor), and the mask exhaust. For the latter, a light weight cloth draped over the mask exhaust can help w that noise. For the machine noise, consider placement location.

.

[palerider]

Thank you everyone who posted ideas to help. We will try each of them. He is currently using a new transcend ezex with a mirage (the one that fits on his nose). With his old machine he had to use a chin strap so that he did not snore with the sleep apnea machine. He tried a full face mask when he got the Transcend machine, but it squealed. If you ladies and gentleman have any other ideas to try to help the situation, please let me know. The current noise is a loud whoosh out and a louder whoosh in and occasionally a loud squeal.

if he can get a resmed S9 machine, those are VERY quiet. I can't even hear mine running when I'm not wearing earplugs to drown out the other noises that wake me up.

as to the squealing, that's probably mask leaking, check out 'mask liners' here, there's several different ones talked about on the forum, I'm a *BIG* fan of 'em, they turn the sqealing/farting noses into more tolerable softer air sound, if anything.

ignore the haters

[chunkyfrog]

Like the captain, I have become accustomed to the sounds of the machine.
Those of us with tinnitus hear annoying sounds all the time,
and anything that distracts from or drowns out those sounds is welcome.
In the daytime, my hearing aid helps, at night my machine does what it can to help
while I have learned to live with what can probably never be completely gone.
Instead of trying to ignore or muffle the sound, meditate on it and what it can mean to you and your husband.
Try to link the sound with better health and a full future along with following the good tips already given.
Before you notice, you will have to concentrate to hear it.

[squidman22]

Seems strange. I've only been on CPAP for two months and me and my wife had to look twice to see if it was on. It was that quiet. Its kinda loud when its running and the mask is off but when in use its quieter than the desktop fan on low. I have a Philips Respironics REMstar Plus. You might wanna check to see if its working right.