M Whisper Cap Question

[zeronine]

Hello all...

Going through my first week of treatment and I have a question relating to the M whisper cap. I am on auto right now and they are determining the pressure I need for treatment over a 2 week period. I ordered the whisper cap among other supplies to make treatment more bearable and just got some of them in today. Can't wait to solve my rainout issues

My question is: The Whisper cap brings air through a tiny hole and into a little box as opposed to the filter being entirely exposed to air... seems to me that this would decrease the amount of air going to the filter since it has to now pull it all in through the small hole and into box and then the filter... now I am not sure how this little machine works or if my previous statement is correct... but I'd think the machine might have to work harder to get more air into it/me to compensate for that small hole... so if the machine is working harder to get the same amount of air to me through a smaller exposure hole... is this going to throw my results off as far as pressure goes?

Should I wait until they determine pressure and then use it or does the whisper cap not change anything as far as the pressure and how the machine works?

I thought this info would be in the materials/instructions but it came with diagrams only...

For kicks I tried it out for a second tonight with and without and there seemed to be a higher pressure in my mask with the whisper cap on... which I thought was strange b/c I was thinking it might cut it down but this also makes me think the machine might be working harder to get the pressure right...

I appreciate any knowledge on this topic...

Thanks!

[DoriC]

Hmm, never thought of that as a possibility, we've had the WhisperCap on since the beginning and never tried it without. I'll take it off tonight to see if any pressure changes and if the noise level is much different. Interesting, I hope we get some replies.

[GumbyCT]

Might be a Q? for Respironics.

My question is: The Whisper cap brings air through a tiny hole and into a little box as opposed to the filter being entirely exposed to air... seems to me that this would decrease the amount of air going to the filter since it has to now pull it all in through the small hole and into box and then the filter... now I am not sure how this little machine works or if my previous statement is correct... but I'd think the machine might have to work harder to get more air into it/me to compensate for that small hole... so if the machine is working harder to get the same amount of air to me through a smaller exposure hole... is this going to throw my results off as far as pressure goes?

I look at it a a muffler made by the Manufacturer.

[MurphysLaw]

It's funny that you should post this today. Last night for some odd reason I meant to do something else (can't recall) but I twisted off the whisper cap. Heck. I was too tired to put it back on and just slept without it for probably the first time since I got software. Your post prompted me to look at this week's pressures and I see that last night's was the lowest pressure of the week. Also, more marks showed up in the leaks, apneas, hypopneas, snores, and flow limitations than showed up the other nights. My mask leak rate stayed about the same. I may leave it off tonight to see if the same thing happens again. Interesting.

Just my opinion but the noise level was the same without it as with it. I have a noisy machine.

[TheDreamer]

I got the Whisper Cap last night...and it didn't seem to help with the noise issue I'm having. I couldn't see how it would've made a difference, but tried it anyways.

The noise that is bother me seems to be coming from the humidifier, it is the sound of air whooshing through the chamber...either because of my breathing or C-FLEX or both...it varies with my breathing, so it makes the noise really distracting.

Not sure, but it seems to me that it is connected with how full the humidifier is....or maybe I just don't notice it when I wake up in the morning. I suppose I could try to figure out how much water is used overnight, and try to fill just that amount and see if that makes a difference.

The Dreamer

[GumbyCT]

Could try turning Cflex down or OFF to see if that helps. It usu does.

Some think having an empty water chamber acts a bit like a muffler too.

[TheDreamer]

Hmmm, perhaps I'll try that tonight.

The Dreamer

[Guest]

try ear plugs?

[MurphysLaw]

Turning off C-flex helped in my situation. I prefer using C-flex but can't stand the whistling that comes with it.

Interesting theory, TheDreamer, on the fullness of the humidifier. If you determine anything, please let us know. I've suspected it has something to do with the humidifier but hadn't thought about the water level. I keep thinking there is a problem where the humidifier hooks up to the APAP, perhaps there is not a tight fit. My hubby's CPAP machine is quiet as a mouse. We switched machines recently for two nights and his was good and mine, across the bed, was whistling away. I've had this machine for three months and have hated the whistle since Day 1. Now I've learned to use it without C-Flex but that shouldn't have to be the answer.

[zeronine]

Please keep us posted on your results and the differences with and without the cap. Very interesting.

I called Apria and asked a tech and she told me it would not mess up my results pressures... etc. They cleared me to go ahead and use it even while doing my auto test stuff.

I'm going to try and call Phillips to see if I can get a detailed answer.

I'm still scratching my head though... maybe I do not understand the way the machine works... but just thinking in terms of what I know from racing cars and dealing with air intake/flow to exotic race car engines... I can't wrap my head around how pulling air through that tiny little hole instead of the entire surface area of the much larger rectangle filter (the box covers the filter area with plastic) can not change things such as the amount of work the machine has to do to compensate for the loss of surface area for the intake... I will take the filters off tonight and explore the air intake area b/c the only thing I can think of is that the filter area is large but the intake hole on the machine behind the filter area is as tiny as the hole in the whisper cap.

Either way... I used it last night and I slept better than I have since starting this treatment a week ago... waking up only twice (instead of 9 times or so) to deal with rainout... but I also used my performance tube and tube cover for the first time... also I have a 2 day old mattress and had the windows open during the day so the mattress could offgas and vent while I was at work so my room was a little cold last night... so hoping that the rainout is solved once my room gets to normal temp. Then it's down to picking a mask I can deal better with... tired of dry eyes! For some reason my tube does not condensate... just my mask...

[Babette]

The noise that is bother me seems to be coming from the humidifier, it is the sound of air whooshing through the chamber...either because of my breathing or C-FLEX or both...it varies with my breathing, so it makes the noise really distracting.

The whooshing noise IS VERY DISCONCERTING. It bothered me for months. I'm completely used to it now. I equated it to the sound of the ventilators used in hospital ICU's. It really disturbed me at first.

You really need to invest in a white noise generator - a fan works great for this. And just focus on your breathing, and remind yourself that noise is a soothing comfort, not an irritating distraction.

There really isn't much you can do about that whooshing noise. You just have to learn to get used to it.

It will help greatly if you can eliminate all the other problem variables - make sure the mask is the right one, the pillow is the right one, use PurSleep, try an OTC sleep aid, etc. etc.

Good luck and just hang in there! It WILL get better!
B.

[Peaktagger]

try ear plugs?

That's been my solution, works great for me. I bought a whisper cap, but have decided not to use it. The earplugs block out all the other noise floating around too, cars, dogs, noisy teenagers. I also fear the whispercap will shorten the life of the machine by making it work harder.

Peace

[TheDreamer]

Well, lowering C-Flex didn't help the noise...as far as I could tell. Gonna put it back tonight.

The Dreamer

[MurphysLaw]

My noise didn't reduce until I completely shut off C-Flex internally, using the clinician's menu.

[roster]

Take the worst case where your pressure is 20 cm H20 and your vent rate is say 120 lpm. I am sure that opening is plenty large enough that there is only a tiny additional drag on the machine fan.

Here are some photos of the Whisper Cap if some engineers want to chime in. https://www.cpap.com/viewImage.php?PNum ... ne-top.jpg