Post
by tmc712 » Thu Oct 14, 2021 7:25 pm
I tried the Bleep recently, and I have mixed feelings about it. (Normally I use the ResMed N30i, which is not perfect, but seems to work pretty well for me.)
Pros:
* It doesn't flatten out or break my hair, because it doesn't touch my hair! This was my main motivation for trying it.
* Prepping my skin didn't seem to cause any irritation. I was worried about this because I tend to have dry skin. I used Thayer's unscented alcohol-free witch hazel, instead of alcohol. And I moisturized my nose area in the morning immediately after removing the ports.
* No leaks at all. Sometimes my Oscar data showed a few leaks, but it was always while I was awake. I'm guessing I might have slightly opened my mouth a few times and not realized it.
* I felt like I was getting more air in both nostrils. My right nostril tends to collapse inward, but the Bleep basically tapes it open so it can't collapse.
Cons:
* I did 16 days of the Bleep, and I just couldn't seem to get the ports to aim straight down. They always flared out a little, so attaching the hose always put a little pressure on my nose. Not painful, but noticeable.
* I couldn't use it without a hose management system. Too much tugging on my nose without it. I have never needed hose management before, and I kind of resented having another thing uglifying my bedroom.
* I just don't like having things hanging off my nose. I always feel like it's tugging my head to one side or the other. It's super annoying to me and irritates my chronic neck pain. I strongly prefer the Dreamwear or N30i masks with the hose connection on top of my head.
* It was quite time-consuming to prep my nose, attach the ports, and get the hose attached properly. I'm sure this gets better with practice, but it's just so easy to slip my regular mask on and be done with it.
So, I love the idea of this mask, but I went back to the N30i when I ran out of ports. I found that the cons outweighed the pros for me. I can totally see why other people love this system, though. I was hoping I would be one of them. I am keeping the Bleep hose, just in case I want to give it another try in the future.