pressure and plugged ears

[Elle]

Not sure if this has come up but does anyone know if lowering pressure decreases the sensation that I have been blowing up balloons all night. I have a plugged feeling all the time now. I also have vertigo and tinnitus so likely related to that but wondered if tweaking cpap would help at all.

[Julie]

You're dizzy from lack of 02, so Cpap can only help (by delivering more useful air).

[Elle]

Hi Julie, I've actually had vertigo for years but I can't remember the full ears things except the last few months and wondered if it was related to pressure. According to my newly downloaded sleepy head I do hover at 13 much of the night so it must be needed. I better not lower it. thanks for your help.

[archangle]

Lowering the pressure would reduce the tendency to make your ears pop. However, it could lead to a higher AHI. EPR might help if you're not already maxed out.

I'm not sure how much it affects vertigo and tinnitus, but I guess air in the ears might affect that.

[Elle]

I lowered the pressure from 13 to 12 and AHI was only 1.2 I will check the EPR. Thank you for your help.
Edit. Checked EPR and it was at 1 so I changed it to 2. I am not sure how that works but I am dizzier than usual today so I put the pressure back up to 13. It may not have anything to do with cpap.

[archangle]

If you get desperate enough, the Oracle nasal mask doesn't put pressure in your ears if you can learn to use it without the nose plugs.

I found the mask too uncomfortable for me. It dried out my mouth and throat too much and the feeling of not breathing through my nose was uncomfortable.

[chunkyfrog]

The sensation of plugged ears is less likely to be related to cpap use than to a middle ear problem.
--possibly an infection. Can you visit an ENT?

[Elle]

Hi Chunky, Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it).

I was diagnosed with vertigo years ago but in the last few months I wake up feeling like I have been blowing up balloons all night and just feel fuzzy headed and a different type of dizziness. I don't have an infection (or at least no other symptoms of that...and both ears are plugged). I am really noticing my mouth is dryer too so of course I am looking for a common cause.

I lowered my low number from 8 to 7 last night and it seemed a bit better but then some days are better randomly. I also made things worse when I lowered my top number from 13 to 12 so I put that back to 13. Do you know anything about how EPR affects things? I just learned to get into the clinical menu the last couple days.

[palerider]

Do you know anything about how EPR affects things?

EPR is a limited bi-level effect. it lowers the pressure when you're not inhaling by the number it's set to, 1, 2, or 3 cm.

so, for example, if you have your pressure set at 13, and set epr2, then your pressure will be 11, until you start to inhale, then it'll rise up to 13, till you start to exhale, at which point it'll drop back to 11.

[Elle]

Thank you Palerider. Sorry for the endless questions and for being slow to pick up meanings but what is the benefit of lower or higher EPR setting? How does it change things?

Also, it was interesting to me to see my AHI go down last night after changing pressure settings from 9-13 to 7-13. I guess it could be random but I have had between 1 and 2 for ages so it was interesting to see it below 1 especially since I slept 10.5 hours instead of 8. Maybe it was the turkey.

The reason I am trying to understand these things is so I can explain to my sister just starting out. I want her to get the best treatment so she will stick with it. I am finding out now how much I don't know.

[palerider]

Thank you Palerider. Sorry for the endless questions and for being slow to pick up meanings but what is the benefit of lower or higher EPR setting? How does it change things?

EPR is promoted as a 'comfort' feature, something you can set to whatever you like, primarily for new people that feel it's difficult to exhale against the wee bit of pressure that the cpap creates.

if your set pressure is just barely enough, then turning up EPR could lead to more apneas by lowering the pressure below what you need... experimentation is the key

[Elle]

Ok, thanks. Guess I will leave it alone. appreciate the responses.

[archangle]

The sensation of plugged ears is less likely to be related to cpap use than to a middle ear problem.
--possibly an infection. Can you visit an ENT?

My CPAP sometimes pushes air into my ears like flying in an airplane or going up and down in the mountain. It does give a plugged ear feeling.

[Elle]

archangle have you ever figured out why it happens when it does or come up with a solution?

[Neecerie]

The sensation of plugged ears is less likely to be related to cpap use than to a middle ear problem.
--possibly an infection. Can you visit an ENT?

My CPAP sometimes pushes air into my ears like flying in an airplane or going up and down in the mountain. It does give a plugged ear feeling.

This happens to me too. I have a known eustachian tube malfunction, in that they basically stay open most of the time. My sleep tech warned that it might be slightly uncomfy, but thankfully I do not feel the CPAP (and my pressure is on the low end) while i am sleeping, but rather wake each morning and 20 min later my ears pop and I can hear again. I can live with that.


I would go to an ENT for an exam, even if its not a current infection, there might be something amiss.