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Keep your old machine for a back-up as most of us do... you never know when you'll need it!

Hi Linda,

The first thing I thought of when reading your post is that possibly this is a mask problem and not a machine problem. A few times when I was just starting out I would hear that Darth Vader noise and it bothered me. Then I realized that the problem was the mask. The elbow on the front of the mask was not quite all the way in. Even though the elbow had clipped in, somehow it did not seat all the way into the opening.
The other thing I thought of goes back to when I was younger and had ear infections constantly as a teen and young adult. Every time I had to put cotton in my ears due to drops I would hear myself breathing. Putting something in my ear tends to amplify the sound of my own breaths. Perhaps the ear plugs are actually amplifying the issue?
The last thing is machine placement, which others have mentioned and you have worked on yourself. I got this little shelf from CPAP.com that pieces together and slides between the mattress and box springs. It keeps the machine low and close to the bed. It also has a pliable piece of material that the machine actually sits on. This material snaps around the frame of the shelf. There are no vibrations from my machine at all. It is called a travel shelf. It's great!
Now I am not saying that there is absolutely no noise to get used to when you have this thing strapped to your face, but I am saying that it is not noticeable enough to keep me awake. I hope the same is true for you very soon.
Best wishes in getting your therapy working its best!

I love your avatar.

Her expression made me smile. So cute. Is she yours?

Linda,

I do not think I mentioned this so I will know.

Last night I counted in my head, I can still hear the machine, but my voice is closer to me. I did not get very far. I do this when I am not reading a book.

I also put the dark cloth over my eyes. I do not remember waking up during the night. I woke up at 6 something when family was waking up. I fell right back asleep until I was woken up because I needed to get going this morning. I felt groggy from being woken up from a deeper sleep.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and the support.

Keep smiling, thank you for sharing your story. I know our situation with UARS is very tricky. I just feel I am more sensitive than sensitive people.

Peacefulsleeper: can you post a link to the shelf you got on cpap.com? Thanks

I was on a fixed pressure mode before which I thought was helpful but I realized I can't tolerate the sound of louder pressures.

You know I thought about mask noise too but I have a 100 percent fit and I tried nasal pillows and that aggravated my breathing more. The Amara full view though not the most comfortable is to me the quietest full face mask so I'm sticking to it.

I found that by putting sheets and towels I could dampen the machine noise a little.

I am convinced now though to get the air sense since I am still getting too many reras and flow limitations and from pugsy's explanation... The air sense sounds it will at least address those better than my rematar.

The backup cpap is an excellent idea. I guess I have no excuse now than to buy a second cpap. Kaiser has been slow. All the respiratory therapists in my area are on vacation so I have to wait two weeks before I know if they will cover. Most likely not so you think it's best to just buy the air sense right away?

Hi Linda,
I hope I did the link correctly. It is called: Bedside Cpap Table.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/arden- ... table.html

KeepSmiling wrote:I love your avatar.

Her expression made me smile. So cute. Is she yours?

Hi,
The baby is not my own. I googled pics of sleeping babies until I found one that embodied the way that I hope to feel very soon when I wake in the morning. She makes me smile too!

Peaceful sleeper wrote:
Hi,
The baby is not my own. I googled pics of sleeping babies until I found one that embodied the way that I hope to feel very soon when I wake in the morning. She makes me smile too!

You and me both.

Yet, I thought dreams were making her smile.

KeepSmiling wrote:

Peaceful sleeper wrote:
Hi,
The baby is not my own. I googled pics of sleeping babies until I found one that embodied the way that I hope to feel very soon when I wake in the morning. She makes me smile too!

You and me both.

Yet, I thought dreams were making her smile.

Or maybe that's a gas-in-the-tummy smile My babies (long ago) used to get those... then they'd burp. Cute as the dickens.

Linda,

I do not know which mask you are using. I read through a few of the posts to see if I could find it. I may have missed it, if I read it the memory is long gone, sorry.

I was looking at masks for myself and just saw this on a CPAP.com video for the AirFit™ F10 For Her Full Face Mask with Headgear https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... r-her.html.

[Because of the round vent holes it is a quiet mask.] paraphrasing.

So my question, have you tried different masks to see if there is less noise?

Other questions, since you bought the machine two months ago would Kaisar (spelling) (not sure if that is your insurance or the DME) let you try different machines. Have you talked with them about the issue of the noise of either the machine or mask?

Another thing, I wanted to mention when I read you are more sensitive to noise. Some people are very sensitive to noises others can just ignore. I remember listening to Kelly Ripper talk about this condition. I do not remember the noise.

I am not saying you have this. But I am sure your issue with the noise is very real.

I know my issue with noise stems from a different issue and I know others are not affected with noise that rings so loud in my brain. For me noises accumulate, which is why I think I can tolerate some of the noise in the mask, as long as not more noise is added. ( I was recently driving for a two hour trip. There was a vibrating noise that was driving me nuts. Within 30 minutes the passenger discovered the noise and stopped it. The relief in my brain was unbelievable to me. The passenger was shocked how that little noise had disturbed me so much when it was barely audible to them next to the object. Coffee cup in the door slot.)

I use a whole room hepa air filter. The white noise from it blocks all the other noises and makes me sleep like a baby.

Hi Keep smiling. I use a amara view mask. I have the F10, would be nice but i have no nose bridge so air shoots straight out. The amara is almost good enough. The only problem I have is the vents, they can make noise if the air touches my blankets. And I typically like sleeping with them over my head.

I have asked Kaiser about trying different machines. They said it would be out of my own expense.... I think... cant remember. Other patients told me kaiser only prescribes the remstar.

I noticed the Darth Vader noise last night for the first time.

All summer I had a big fan on low and it masked the Cpap/Darth Vader noise.

Last night it was too cool to use the fan. It bothered me for awhile. I couldn't believe how loud it was. It sounded like to me it was coming out of the machine.

I need to find a white noise solution it appears.