S9 ResMed - need much longer hose

[x509]

My wife complains about the "whoosing" noise that the machine makes at times during the night. It wakes her up and she can't get back to sleep. I thought I heard somewhere about a 50' long hose, so I could put the machine in the closet. But I've searched this forum and googled endlessly - no luck. Does this exist? Can I make one up myself?

[Pugsy]

That would be a 50 ft oxygen hose and not a cpap hose...over 10 or 12 feet (maybe) in terms of cpap long hose you run the risk of pressure being delivered being not optimal. I don't know where the cut off is.

Noise at times during the night that bugs the wife...but not at the beginning of the night...or all night long..that points to it not coming from the machine and moving the machine to the closet might not help anyway.

Is it possible she is hearing leaks of some form?
You are using the Mirage FX nasal mask?? That means the mouth is uncovered and when the mouth gets opened the air going up the nose and down the airway will try to exit prematurely at the oral cavity and the air exiting the mouth will create quite a bit of roar/swhooshing/whatever..
What do your leak reports look like? Any big leaks show up?

[OldSarge]

My wife complains about the "whoosing" noise that the machine makes at times during the night. It wakes her up and she can't get back to sleep. I thought I heard somewhere about a 50' long hose, so I could put the machine in the closet. But I've searched this forum and googled endlessly - no luck. Does this exist? Can I make one up myself?

I get that kind of noise with my S9. I am on straight Cpap with 15cm pressure. I think it occurs when I exhale against the pressure in my original MIrage Quattro mask. Kind of a raspy whine with it too. My machine is set to reduce pressure 3cm against exhale. The noise comes from the unit itself with a little more noise thru the tubing

It got better about a month ago when I read about someone putting his CPAP unit on a small table or floor next to the bed and then covered it with something. I did put mine on a small table next to the bed and then I take my 2nd pillow I don't use to sleep with to block the noise. I put it next to the table between the unit and the bed. The pillow seems to absorb a lot of the sound. For me it eliminates it almost completely. But I lost a lot of hearing when I was overseas. So my wife still hears a little.
My wife seems to think it has been "quieter" on her side of the bed. So I think that blocking maneuver works. I am careful to not put anything on the unit top or to block the air intake/filter area in my case. Don't want to have to buy the VA another S9 unit. I do not think they would be amused.

I had transitioned from the Mirage Quattro to an Amara Gel mask the last 6 weeks to deliver better AHI's - that part worked. It seals better for me. But I still could hear the rush and whine on exhale if I moved that pillow or leaned over near the little table area. So I don't think you are "hearing things" but are actually hearing things so to speak. I believe it has been noted from other S9 users on the CPAP forums - unsure if here or the Apnea Board forum.

Now my issue is dealing with another mask type since having eyelid surgery this past Thursday. My stitches are right where the forehead supports are place - OUCH. The tech gave me a couple of choices and I finally took a Swift FX.
I don't hear the same whine or rush in it, although if I don't get the pillows in correctly - it makes a big rushing sound from the mask itself. Also I am a "mouth breather" so I have had to make sure my tongue is in place up against the upper palate and my mouth closed. Pugsy is right that makes a big sound if I let it droop. Kind of scared me the first few times too. But it is from the mouth - not the unit itself. She heard that too over the past two nights.

Pugsy is undoubtedly on the right track to help - she sure is knowledgeable! But I thought I might throw out this little table idea as it made a big change for what noise my wife was hearing. Might help you get any "unit noise" out of the way until you figure out how to eliminate the noise entirely. Good luck - every little bit helps with our spouses.

Now if someone can just track down the reason for this "whoosh and whine" some of us hear in the S9.

[sleeplessinaz]

My S 9 is silent. Nothing. I have mine on a plastic step stool which puts it lower than my mattress. That's maybe why it is so quiet. The hubs says he never hears anything.

[digitalepiphany]

When I was using my Swift FX with my S9 AutoSet (also from the VA) and with my current S9 VPAP ST, it is almost completely silent. Unfortunately, I'm a mouth leaker, so I cannot continue to use that mask. To say this is unfortunate is to completely understate the situation. That is, by far, the best mask I've used. Regardless, I've had to transition to a FFM since then.

I have used the Resmed Mirage LIberty on the AutoSet. I have used the Liberty, the Innomed Hybrid, and the Resmed Quattro Air on my VPAP ST. All of the FFMs have made an audible "whooshing/whining" noise during exhale. I've used the Swift FX on both machines. No noise, whatsoever. There has to be something with the FFMs that causes this noise.

Now, before anyone points out that certain masks require one to lay the hose a certain way while in bed, I fully realize this. My first night with the Innomed Hybrid was VERY loud. Until I figured out that positioning the hose over my head was not the ideal way to do it. Even so, laying the hose downward (from my face to my feet, direction-wise), only lessened the noise. But it was there nonetheless.

To get back to your original issue, however, I currently use a 10' hose. This is out of necessity, as I have to keep my alarm clock on the other side of the room, else I'll keep hitting snooze without realizing it. With shorter hoses, they end up breaking at the rubber connection due to the stress I put on them. Does the length of the hose negatively impact my therapy? Your guess is as good as mine, but my AHI is consistently below 2. I still have seen no relief of my symptoms, but my apneas are at least well controlled. So, you can take that for what you will.

A 50' hose though? I can think of no scenario where that would be a good idea. Using electricity as an example, the longer the line, the more drop in electrical potential you get. That's why we have transformers on power poles. Over long distances, the electrical potential delivered will drop to such a level that no one will get electricity. So, they have to install transformers to increase that potential over longer distances. I can't see how forcing air through a hose would be any different. Try blowing a candle out. Now try doing it from 5' away. Isn't gonna happen. The longest hoses I've seen for sale are 10' (that's not to say there aren't longer ones, that's just what I've seen for sale). I'm sure there's a reason for that.

If there's a problem with excess noise, it's either the machine, the mask, or you're just paying too much attention to it which only serves to "amplify" the noise. From my experience, it's the mask. If you don't mouth breathe or mouth leak, use pillows. In my experience, they're the quietest. FFMs always make too much noise (at least with the S9).

[x509]

Is it possible she is hearing leaks of some form?

At different times, my wife says that the noise is coming from the machine. Other times, she says it's the mask. She's not a deep sleeper to begin with, and I think the CPAP machine makes the whole situation worse.

You are using the Mirage FX nasal mask?? That means the mouth is uncovered and when the mouth gets opened the air going up the nose and down the airway will try to exit prematurely at the oral cavity and the air exiting the mouth will create quite a bit of roar/swhooshing/whatever..

Yes. Oh, I didn't know that. I didn't that either.

What do your leak reports look like? Any big leaks show up?

Leak report? What's that?

[Pugsy]

Leak report? What's that?

The S9 AutoSet has full data available for leak evaluation.
The 95% leak number is available on the machine's LCD screen if DME has SleepQuality turned on in the clinical setup menu.
Explained in the manual here.
http://www.apneuvereniging.nl/forum/pdf ... manual.pdf
There is software you can use. Sleepyhead works fine with the S9 AutoSet..see my signature for links to it as well as how to install and use.
Rescan is available..see this video for brief look at how to use and what it shows
http://montfordhouse.com/cpap/resscan_tutorial/ Tutorial

Mainly if we see big leaks...we have to then rule the leaks out as a potential noise because sometimes the leaks (especially from the mouth) can make lots of noise.
Water in the hose makes a lot of noise also but normally when that happens you know it as you get a wet face/nose from water coming from the mask. Though it wouldn't be impossible to have water in the hose and none hit the face. I have had it happen to me and it wakes my husband up it is so loud but I always get a wet nose with mine.

When investigating weird noises it's always needed to rule out common suspects before blaming the machine.
This is especially true when the noises come and go. Machine noises are more apt to be present all the time from when you turn it on till you turn it off...not come and go as you are describing.

[brivers222]

The S9 AutoSet has full data available for leak evaluation.
The 95% leak number is available on the machine's LCD screen if DME has SleepQuality turned on in the clinical setup menu.
Explained in the manual here.
http://www.apneuvereniging.nl/forum/pdf ... manual.pdf
There is software you can use. Sleepyhead works fine with the S9 AutoSet..see my signature for links to it as well as how to install and use.
Rescan is available..see this video for brief look at how to use and what it shows
http://montfordhouse.com/cpap/resscan_tutorial/ Tutorial

Are either of those able to be used on a Mac?

[alpha752]

It could be the exhalation port on the mask. I have a Mirage Quattro and it has a huge area to vent CO2 on it, and when I exhale it makes quite a bit of noise as the air is forced out through the little holes. My machine makes very little noise, I find its the mask that makes the most, even when its well sealed.

[Pugsy]

Are either of those able to be used on a Mac?

Yes, but I see you have a 60 series machine so you will need the Mac version and the 60 series Patch.
2 ways to get it.
Install the regular Jimbos Mac version and then go get the Patch file and put it in the software manually...
or
Just get the unstable build which includes the Patch already...that's what I would do. I have been testing the unstable Windows build for months and it is just as stable as the regular version.

Unstable builds here..not sure why there are 2 shown but I would start with the largest download first...anyone using this build know why there are 2 downloads??? One is big and the other is much smaller??
http://sourceforge.net/projects/sleepyh ... %20Builds/
I don't do Macs myself so not much help with the finer details. If you have trouble we have enough 60 series Mac users here to help you out...I would suggest starting a new thread of your own though. That way it would get seen quicker/better.

Check out the links in my signature line for further SleepyHead instructions on install and how to use.

If you opt to go with the original Mac plus Patch file...read this thread...the first 3 pages thoroughly
viewtopic/t83551/SleepyHead-Series-60-Patch-Avail.html
On the 3rd page is the link for the separate Patch for the Mac. The very first post in the thread with that Patch is for Windows.
This is used to be what 60 series users had to do to get SleepyHead to work but several months after the Patch file was released Mark updated the Windows SH download/install files to include the Patch...so we don't have to do it now with the Windows version.
Mac users don't have to do it either if they are willing to use the unstable build.
From what I have heard from Mac users using the unstable Mac build...it works just fine.

ResScan (for ResMed users) and Encore (for Respironics users) are both Windows only software and there is no Mac version for those products. Mac users wanting either of those products must install some sort of virtual Windows on the Mac.