Loud machine; angry pregnant wife; please help!

[BostonSnooze]

I have a Phillips SystemOne CPAP, have had it for a little over a year, and it's been getting progressively louder and louder throughout that time. At this point, it sounds like a vacuum cleaner, and not even a fan can drown out the noise.

It's been waking up my pregnant wife, who's a very light sleeper, and I often get exiled to the couch. Which angers her even more, because she doesn't like it when I sleep on the couch -- she wants to be in bed with me.

My doctor has been of little help in this situation. They refer me to the machine supplier, who just try to sell me new supplies. I've replaced the filter on the machine countless times with no improvement in decibel levels. I've also tried turning off the humidifier and changing the pressure levels, also with no change. I use a Quattro FX full face mask, which in itself hisses pretty loudly and doesn't help the situation. But it seems to be the best full face mask available, and as I'm a mouth breather, nasal masks don't work for me.

I'm in the process of switching doctors, but my new one doesn't have availability until January. Until then, I'm screwed.

I'm going to be asking my doctor for a written prescription so I can just buy my own cpap machine, but I wouldn't know what machine to get or how to configure it.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions? Maybe ways to solve the noise levels of the SystemOne? Or what machine would be a good choice to buy new?

Any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated!

[knothead]

She doesn't like you sleeping on the couch, problem solved...have her sleep on the couch.
Seriously...I use a Resmed S9 and love it...very little noise, what there is can be masked by a fan or white noise, been using it for 5 years now. Maybe your new doc can help. Oh by the way I just purchased my 2nd S9 off Craigs list in the town I live. Check it out in your hometown. Good luck with the wife...

[john5396]

Some thoughts on controlling noise:

- my machine lives in a drawer in my bedside table.
- try getting a mousepad or other soft surfece for the machine to set on to reduce noise transferred to the table it is on.
- Have the machine on the floor or at least below the bed height, so that the matress is beteen her and the machine.

[BlackSpinner]

Well she had better learn to live with noise while sleeping because in a few months there will be nothing but noise in the house.

Check your mask - most noise comes from that interface. When did you last get a mask or new insert?

[Pugsy]

The System One machines have a 2 year warranty and it shouldn't be getting "progressively louder" if you are absolutely sure the noise is from the machine....they just don't do that unless there is a problem.
The DME (where you got it from) should step up and be willing to check it out and maybe send it back to Respironics.
It's one thing when a noise is constant but another thing when a noise changes and gets progressively worse.
Progressively louder coming from the machine...it needs to be checked out.
Now one thing you might look at is inside the humidifier...remove the water chamber and look in the back and fiddle with the little gaskets a bit to make sure they are still solidly seated.
Also...remove the humidifier and try out the machine to see if it still makes the same noise.

What is the model number off the bottom of the blower unit? Look for a 3 digit number with DS in front or behind the 3 digits. Also on that same sticker is an 8 digit number which is code for the machine's manufacture date...example
20140101 would be Jan 1, 2014.
The model number...I asked because if it is a brick...I don't know I would want to push to have it fixed and if you are going to buy your own machine and it's a brick...and the humidifier is okay..you might want to save some money and just get another machine that will work with that humidifier. Up to you but just thought I would mention it.

Model numbers below 450 in the System One model line are what we call bricks...meaning they don't offer any useful data if a person wanted to monitor their own therapy. The still blow air though and aren't supposed to make a lot of noise doing so.

[palerider]

I have a Phillips SystemOne CPAP, have had it for a little over a year, and it's been getting progressively louder and louder throughout that time. At this point, it sounds like a vacuum cleaner, and not even a fan can drown out the noise.

figure out where the noise is coming from, is it air noise? is it a whine from the fan?

take the hose off, put your thumb over the outlet, and turn on the machine, it should be nearly silent.

if still noisy, detach the humidifier half and put your thumb over the side outlet from the blower, repeat.

[cathyf]

I have a ResMed A10, with an AirFit F10 full-face mask. I was just thinking at about 5:15 this morning that it would be sure nice if the machine/mask were louder -- loud enough to drown out my dear husband's snoring.

Hey! Don't judge me! Sleep deprivation makes you think crazy thoughts!

Is it possible that your machine has something loose? They are not supposed to be that loud. A couple of days ago somebody was warning us that his machine was putting up a racket, and it turned out that the humidifier wasn't snapped into place. It sounds like it SHOULD be under warranty. Can you take the machine to the equipment supplier, and demand that they being out a brand new machine, and put them side-by-side and run them. It should be obvious that yours is broken and needs to be sent to the manufacturer for repair.

One warning about pregnant women -- your wife should be able to sleep through a bomb blast -- I sure did when I was pregnant! Once the baby comes she will be a lot more sensitive to the noise, and even MORE sleep deprived, so you really want to get your machine fixed/replaced before then!

[Janknitz]

I say the opposite of what Cathy says--your wife isn't sleeping well because of the pregnancy. I had to get up a million times a night to pee. Hormones and the pressure of another human being using your bladder as a trampoline are a terrible combination! I guess it's nature's way of training you for the sleepless nights to come. So she may be waking from other things and THEN the noise of your machine is there to blame.

You still need to get the machine looked at, but realize (and if this isn't your first you should already know this) that no matter what you do right now, it's wrong.


P.S. Cathy--why isn't your husband getting a sleep test if his snoring is keeping you up????

[cathyf]

P.S. Cathy--why isn't your husband getting a sleep test if his snoring is keeping you up????

Because my husband believes that he will live forever as long as he never has any contact with any medical professional.

I'm working on it. Have been for 24 years. Right now he is doing a consulting job where we can charge basically all out-of-pocket medical expenses to his consulting income and it doesn't count as income for either taxes or college financial aid. Between those two, it makes medical care virtually free for us through the end of the year. Last comment (over last weekend) was that I was not afraid of him losing his job, but I am afraid of waking up and finding him dead in the bed with me. I'm letting that one sink in...

[palerider]

I have a ResMed A10, with an AirFit F10 full-face mask. I was just thinking at about 5:15 this morning that it would be sure nice if the machine/mask were louder -- loud enough to drown out my dear husband's snoring.

do what I did... slap a cpap on 'em... quiets 'em right up!

[Janknitz]

Sorry, not meaning to highjack the OP's topic, but Cathy, would he try CPAP if there was no doctor involved???

[bwexler]

I too have a LOUD PRS1 model DS960TS. I checked the noise with the humidifier compeetly removed. It was much noisier
I have only been complaining about the noise since the day I brought it home. I will need to try again with CRPARIA, my favorite (and only in network) DME.

[palerider]

I too have a LOUD PRS1 model DS960TS. I checked the noise with the humidifier compeetly removed. It was much noisier
I have only been complaining about the noise since the day I brought it home. I will need to try again with CRPARIA, my favorite (and only in network) DME.

is the machine loud, or is it loud with the mask on? two very different things..

[chunkyfrog]

Somebody commented that adding an AB filter reduced the noise level from their machine.
I had some success with putting a mouse pad under the machine.
My best solution is not one everybody can use:
I take out my hearing aid and sleep on my good ear.

[BostonSnooze]

Thanks all for the replies! I'll try placing it on a mousepad. Unfortunately there's no bedside drawer to stick the machine in.

It's the machine itself that's making the noise, not the mask. The mask has always hissed a bit, but that hasn't changed at all.

The noise itsef is a whooshing sound that fluctuates as I breathe in and out.

I spoke with my doctors office to see about getting a prescription to buy my own machine. That's hopefully in process, but they want to check with the supplier of my current machine first. Been there, done that -- I've spoken with them about it in the past, and all they do is try to sell me new supplies. So, I'll likely be pushing for the prescription so I can get my own machine that's quiet and that I can setup myself.

That being the case, what's a good silent machine that will stay silent at pressures of around 15?