Can you hear me now???

[MalFet]

Just a quick update before my story/question. I've been on BiPAP for a month now and it seems to be helping. I was referred to a wonderful neurologist who wrote a scrip for exactly what I asked for in the way of hardware... even offered to teach me how to access the clinical screens and raise my pressure if I felt I needed it before our next visit. I almost blushed when I told him I already knew how to do that from my online PAP family.

Now... about 18 months ago (pre-CPAP therapy), I was awakened at 4:30 o'dark by a loud CRACK! I live in a townhouse and am frequently disturbed by too-close neighbors, so I wait and listen. Nothing. I get out of bed, use the bathroom, and climb back into bed to try to grab a couple more hours before starting Day 1 of a new job.

CRACK!! CRACK!! CRACK!!

Someone is breaking into my house though the glass patio door.

I roll out of bed fully alert. I am a large man. Even without the extra weight, I am a large man, Spartan-bred and spoiling for war. I grab my Louisville Slugger "Cranium-Crackin' Edition" and glide down the staircase.

I know. I know. It's hard to picture, but at this moment I am a 300-pound, adrenaline-fueled ballerina of death. My cerebral, culturally-tuned sensitivities are hiding under the bed with the cat, and I am at my Dominant Male peak hunting fresh meat.

My only mistake? I flipped the lights on. Had the intruder not seen my approach, I would have had him as he stuck his head through the hole in the glass. Lucky for him. Probably lucky for me, too. I asked the policeman (when he showed up two hours later), "Who forcibly breaks into a house at 4:30 on a Monday morning as people are waking up to go to work?" He told me druggies will take any stupid chance they can, without consideration for what might go wrong. Then he wrote the incident up as "malicious mischief." Malicious mischief?!? grrrrrrrrrrrr...

Now for the question: I can't hear a d@mn thing over my BiPAP and it's really driving me nuts. I guess one thing about being half-awake all night is that you hear everything.

Can you hear with your PAP on?
Does it bother you that you can't?
Have you rigged any solutions?

I'm thinking of installing an alarm. I can't hear the neighbors coming and going. I can't hear if my kids are sick in the middle of the night. I can't hear anything but the rhythmic wheezing of the unit. Not that that can't be pleasant, but I think I should be hearing my environment around me.

Thanks for reading this far.

-malfet

[TheDreamer]

I can hear my neighbors and all the other annoying strange sounds with my CPAP on....though I've been thinking of getting an alarm system more than usual lately. Because I'm less inclined to go investigate strange sounds when I'm hosed up....and it makes me worried that some day it'll be a sound that I should've gotten up to investigate. Other than the times where there was a lake forming in the kitchen or it was raining in my bathroom. I hate water where its not supposed to be type things.

The Dreamer.

[kteague]

I purposely try to muffle outside noises or I'd never sleep. I can still hear but not every little sound. Then again, my machine is very quiet and my pressure is only 12. Maybe you should consider an alarm system if it would help you relax and be ok with sleeping soundly. Another thing to consider is using a baby monitor in an area of your house you'd be least likely to hear something. With the volume up and a monitor in your room, you'd hear anything going on in the other area. I wouldn't invest too much in them though, because you'll probably be ready to throw them against the wall before long. Good thing the person intent on "criminal mischief" was noisy.

[rested gal]

What an experience, MalFet!!

And you told it so well -- a real page turner. Or sentence-turner, I guess I should say.

Loved the humor you inserted while relating what really was a serious incident that could easily have been worse:

I roll out of bed fully alert. I am a large man. Even without the extra weight, I am a large man, Spartan-bred and spoiling for war. I grab my Louisville Slugger "Cranium-Crackin' Edition" and glide down the staircase.

I know. I know. It's hard to picture, but at this moment I am a 300-pound, adrenaline-fueled ballerina of death. My cerebral, culturally-tuned sensitivities are hiding under the bed with the cat, and I am at my Dominant Male peak hunting fresh meat.

ROTFL!!!

[Ruby Vee]

GREAT story!

To answer your question, I can hear so much over the soothing sounds of my CPAP that I also run an industrial-sized fan on "high." That mostly blocks out the sounds from inconsiderate neighbors, barking dogs (again the inconsiderate neighbors) and my husband watching some stupid martial arts movie downstairs. Did I mention that I'm a nurse and I rotate shifts? I'm on nights this month. We have a two month old puppy right now, and I worry that I won't hear him when he needs to go to the bathroom -- or at least that I won't hear him before the neighbors do -- but I still need to sleep! (Lucky Hubby -- the puppy sleeps through the night, which does me no good!)

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[rested gal]

Just now noticed your avatar, MalFet. Looks like Gort carrying Patricia Neal in the old Sci-Fi classic, "The Day The Earth Stood Still." Cool.

Klaatu barada nikto

[dowen]

Can you hear with your PAP on?

I can. My gear is really quite.

[whatrdreamsmadeof]

Wow, I think you should become a writer for sure, being a dog lover I'd like to suggest you get a "guard" dog as oppose to a "watch dog". A guard dog will hold and intruder at bay, not attack them and alert you with a series of barks until you get to the intruder. A watch dog will yap and alert you before the intruder enters, which could be anything outside, not great for anyone hosed up as they will yap when a bug goes by if they hear it. Most guard dogs tolerate cats too.
Good luck,
Ellen