ResMed Air Mini - Initial Impressions

OldSaint wrote: Tried it for a few days and was utterly disappointed, not with the machine but the N20 nasal mask setup. It required the AirMini elbow with the HumidX chamber that created a lot of “in your face” noise (like Darth Vader).

You're wrong. Its not the mask that creates the noise but the pump unit itself.
The mask & hose simply carry the noise to where its most annoying.

I have used my Air Mini quite a bit over the past few months. The noise does not bother me at all, but my APAP is set from 7.6 to 12. Those with higher settings may get more noise.

It's been nice to travel lightly with it instead of lugging around my AirSense 10 or old S9.

I'm really surprised that this product was pushed on the market with this significant noise problem. Even more surprised that my health care provider/supplier of CPAP equipment did not disclose this information. The noise I'm referring to has been referenced on this site as the "Darth Vader" sound. They nailed the description. Neither me nor my wife could sleep while away for one night.

I'm not surprised.
The mini is a TRAVEL machine, and to get the tiny size, SOMETHING had to go.
Insulation is bulky--so there you have it.
Insulation is also CHEAP, therefore the ridiculous price.

Goofproof wrote:

Happy Dude wrote:I used the new mini for the first time last night.

There's too much air noise coming out of the vent which is exacerbated during breathing in mostly. The vent is part of the humidifier so it's only a few cm from my ears. If this is normal, I'll be taking it back. I woke several times before giving up and turning off after 3 hours. I checked the mask fit (P10) and was having no issues. I also noted a small buzz from the unit itself but this would not be a deal breaker for me.

To put it into context, I had trialled/rented a S9 and could not hear anything unless the nasal pillow popped out or I opened my mouth.

I'll bet if you took a hacksaw and cut that S9 down to the same size, it would make noise then, if it would run at all. It's not to be a daily XPAP, it's a Travel XPAP. Although the price might suggest it, but fools and their money! Jim

I slept with mine again last night and had to stop after about 2 hrs. The noise is more than my Resmed airsense but tolerable. My husband said it was not bad. like white noise if anything. I have tried to use the facemask for this machine and just cant get used to it. The full face mask also has no humidity connection. I am most comfortable in a Mirage Quattro and have looked to see if there is any way to rig a connection. Still looking. My resp therapist did not guide me with much info it was so new. Until I have this figured out I will travel with my reg machine. Need to sleep. And there is no return on the machine.

I have a fix for the Air Mini noise!

I purchased the Air Mini with the N20 mask - first impression was not happy because although the machine is quiet, the humidifier connection is very loud (darth vader noise) and it's VERY close to your face so hard to miss. I saw someone create a muffler for it, but I found a lot easier solution and it's worked GREAT.

First, the N20 mask set up kit comes with an extra connector to use with another Resmed machine. Its about a foot long with a clip on one end that connects to the mask.

The Humidifer to AirMini hose is very short, about 2 inches. I took off the mask clip from the short humidifier connector (it pops right off with a little pressure) and glued the humidifier connector + long connector, and covered with tape.

The foot long connector has air vents in it that allows the CO2 to go out, and the result is less air pressure in the humidifier connector so it doesn't create as much noise. It also isn't sitting right in front of your face, and that extra foot of distance takes a lot of noise away.

Anyway, I hope my descriptions work for you. I tried to attach photos but couldn't.

If you want photos, please teach me how to attach to the message board.

I’m so glad I read this thread, as I was about to leap in and buy, as the machine looked like the answer to my prayers for travel.

I don’t know why the machine cannot be made available without the humidification gadget. And the proprietary hose thing is also something that grates on me.

After having tried the Transcend and Z1 autos, I went back to using my old s9 without a humidifier. Being able to hear Darth Vader wheeze/whine above the sounds of aircraft engines was just ridiculous. I might as well have taken my Dyson vacuum and rigged that up to use.

ResSleep do offer the 30 day money back guarantee, but also charge full RRP, of over two grand!

If they can nail the noise issue (even if the machine becomes a little larger), I would happily pay whatever they asked - to have the equivalent experience that my s9 (sans humidifier) provides me with.

I'm reasonably new to the world of CPAP, and have purchased a Resmed Airmini with nose cushion mask after trying F&P dream station (with full face mask, no way!) and Resmed Airsense10 during my trial periods.

I love the size of the Airmini and Bluetooth capability (apart from the lack of downloadable data referred to above), still not sure about the whole Humidex thing, I have woken up a few nights with dreadful dry throat, that never seemed to happen with the two water based trial machines.

But the real problem I've encountered (and I was surprised that it hasn't been mentioned by anyone else in this informative thread) is one of its design features, to maintain the high prescribed airflow rate (in my case 10) when two apnea episodes occur within one minute. This means that for the rest of the night it doesn't return to the base setting (in my case 4). This must be happening in my case, because I have woken up a few times now with the thing blasting away at full speed (well, 10) and the aforementioned dry mouth. 10 is enough to force my mouth open, even though I'm not normally a mouth breather.

I have gone into clinical settings and reduced the upper limit from 10 to 6, it doesn't seem to have impacted my sleep "performance" in any way, still getting mid 90s on average. Wonder what my therapist will say about me tampering with the settings on my next visit.

Have contacted Resmed re this problem, I'd like that "two strikes" feature to be switchable, so I can turn it off. No reply from them yet, which is a bit disappointing. The Resmed Airsense 10 I trialled has the same feature, but it never seemed to be a problem for me. Maybe the water based humidifier stopped things from getting too dry....

I'm still in my 30 day "money back if not satisfied" period, do the pros outweigh the cons? Hmm still deciding.

robertverhey wrote:But the real problem I've encountered (and I was surprised that it hasn't been mentioned by anyone else in this informative thread) is one of its design features, to maintain the high prescribed airflow rate (in my case 10) when two apnea episodes occur within one minute. This means that for the rest of the night it doesn't return to the base setting (in my case 4). This must be happening in my case, because I have woken up a few times now with the thing blasting away at full speed (well, 10) and the aforementioned dry mouth. 10 is enough to force my mouth open, even though I'm not normally a mouth breather.

That's the algorithm at work and the reason that it probably hasn't been mentioned before is that for most people that new minimum the algorithm comes up with because of the 2 apneas within a certain time frame is really a good thing and not necessarily a bad thing.
I am using that same algorithm in my AutoSet for Her machine and I rather like it but then my new minimum doesn't blow my mouth open.
In fact I sometimes see upwards of 16 to 18 max pressures and I still keep my mouth shut.

But if you switch to cpap mode and a fixed pressure the 2 strike thing is turned off....but you give up auto adjusting capabilities which means you most likely would have to use a higher pressure all night but if reducing the max to 6 didn't make the AHI go up much...probably not a big deal in terms of therapy effectiveness results.

What happens with any pressure (and what you are describing can happen at any pressure even 6 cm for some people) is that air goes up the nose and proceeds down the airway and instead of going down past the oral cavity it tries to exit into the mouth because the back door closing off the mouth from the back airway is open and not closed. Air enters the mouth...lips are closed maybe but the cheeks might inflate and before long the only thing left is for the lips to open and the air pressure to escape and this will often wake people up. We call this chipmunk cheeks and it can happen at any pressure and in any mode of operation on any machine.

Sounds like you may have a potential issue with the reduction in humidity that using the Humidex humidity thing. While some people do well with minimal humidity...others don't and a person just has to decide how critical that feature is to someone.
For me...it would be a deal breaker for sure but others it's not an issue at all.
If you didn't have dryness issues with the other 2 machines...you may have your answer there.

Oh...the non tiny ResMed APAP machine with the 2 strikes feature...that machine has another auto adjusting mode that doesn't do the 2 strikes thing...
So it can be turned off and still keep the auto adjusting mode but it no longer changes to a new minimum pressure if 2 apneas happen within a minute....it goes back down to the original minimum.

I just got the airmini with p10 pillows mask. I purchased from Lofta and highly recommend. They have the 30day money back guarantee and customer service is excellent, online chat, Facebook, email. Quick and easy and accurate. I have tried it a couple nights and do not find the noise bad at all. My average rate per night so far is around 9, I have not used the humidx discs as I have never used a humidifier, I live in NC where it is pretty humid in general. I love the overall function of the unit. The elbow joint does not bother me personally and def have not felt the vader effect, though maybe that's with the larger masks instead of the pillows. I also got the battery and will be testing it this week. I love to travel and this unit is much smaller and lighter than the more typical home units.

Tommy

I love the airmini, but there's a few things which bug me in varying degrees.

The new AirFit P10 hose is shorter than ye olde S9 hose making it very easy to tug on the machine in your sleep.
The machine is so damn light that you can't trust it to stay put and it MUST be attached to something.
The attachment kit is close to useless. Wifey won't let me screw or stick the bases onto her precious furniture.
The bedside clip won't clip onto the bedside and would bump off in a heartbeat, if it did.
The strap thingy has the grippy pads on the wrong side to grip onto anything.
The attachments hold the machine via a bayonet fitting which disconnects VERY easily if you yank your hose.
The machine doesn't have a bayonet fitting. A thingy with a bayonet fitting clips onto the machine.
There are markings to show how to clip it on but they get covered by the clip itself.
Then there's no indication how to get the damn thing off again.
If any solid part of the machine, clip or attachment touches your furniture, it vibrates like a Russian tractor.
HINT: Get a small hessian bag (or burlap/jute/hemp) with a drawstrings and tie it to your bedside.
Excellent ventilation and vibration control with some freedom to be tugged and bumped.
Mine are roughly 15cm x 20cm and I've found a few which get the wifey tick of approval.
Carry a nylon stocking in your kit for emergencies. Rip (or chew) a small hole for air and power.

For a travel CPAP, it's crazy not to have a battery backup available at the time of release.
There WON'T be an adaptor to use your existing PowerStation II. Throw that sucker away.
The Pilot-24 gets good reviews, but Resmed says it will void your warranty.
The AirMini drags bugger-all current, so give me an adaptor to use with my cheapo USB power bank.

The waterless humidifier works well for me, but it's gosh-darn noisey and feels gosh-darn flimsey.
The non adjustable headgear on the original AirFit pillows was a joke from day one.
Or maybe my head just shrunk???
ResMed stuck the same silly headgear on the new models, which is more than a bit disappointing.
But they now SELL a hack which I swear looks like a plastic thingy from a bread bag.
They should mail out a bag of freebies to all AirFit owners.

I travel a LOT and use this as my main machine. I don’t find it noisy at all but then again I’ve never used another machine for as long as this one. I found it a lot quieter than I expected and less noisy than a heavy sigh. My insurance covered the complete cost of the unit and not having to carry distilled water through airport security is so convenient. I know that in North America I could have gotten through security with distilled water but I sometimes travel through Eastern Europe and I think that would have been a problem. I’m overjoyed with the unit.