Still struggling

Dear all,

I haven't posted in a while as my husband was travelling for the entire month and hence I couldn't monitor the development of the snores. I will post the charts as soon as he has used the devise for a few weeks.

He is back at home since 3 nights, and even though we increased the air pressure to 20, I am now struggling with a very new sound. The snores sound like farts. I am really sorry to use that language but this is the closest I could describe it and it disturbs my sleep a lot. Also, I am not sure if this is anything to worry about in terms of the effectiveness of the treatment.

Has anyone ever experienced this and could you guys recommend anything? He is still using the neck collar every night and nose spray whenever required.

Sorry to hear you are still struggling. The farting sound could be a mask leak; the air escaping against the cheeks of his face at higher pressure. At least it was in my case. Not sure what type of mask you're using, but I fixed mine by tightening my full face mask a bit. Hope this helps and you're able to get better sleep.

MrsRinPDX

Thanks so much Mrs. Rin.

We are using the Amara Full Face Mask. It is the only mask that fit him when we first got the mask. It is pretty tight and my dh has marks on his face but we will try to tighten it more to see if it makes any change. I really hope that it will solve the issue.

Hmm. Well, I have tried that mask and I personally found it hard to get a good fit. But everyone's face is a little different and in my case, getting a good fit at high pressure was a real bear! You wouldn't believe how many times I would take the mask off, and start over. I eventually changed masks. I'm interested to hear what others have to say. Have you watched the videos on how to adjust for leaks on the Amara View? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXzvgNnJ29Y

Actually, try loosening it - too tight can be just as noisy and isn't good for therapy - the thin cushion in the mask needs to inflate to work properly and the mask should just hover, not be mashed down.

Using a mask liner may help soften or eliminate the farting noise.
Have you tried a mask liner? I don't remember what all you have tried and I know it has been a lot of things.

If you want to try making your own mask liners from an old, well-used tee shirt, you can find a pattern at this site:
http://montfordhouse.com/cpap/diy-cotton-mask-liner.pdf

This size will work for a small or medium mask. It can be enlarged for a large size mask. The hole in the center can also be enlarged, just make sure youleave enough material to go completely under the edge of the mask. The mask may still leak some, but it usually stops the mask farts.

Hi all,

Thank you so much and these are great suggestions. Being on this forum has really helped us a lot in the past and I do appreciate all your advise!

We will see if fastening or loosing the mask will make any difference.

In terms of the mask liner, this is one of the things we haven't yet tried. I will immediately order it.

I am still being awoken by the snores unfortunately even though the 'fart' noise was less last night. Is there such thing as too much pressure?

Regarding loosening the mask, if I did that, it would probably levitate off my face every night. I'm a member of the "clamp-it club." It's certainly not comfortable, and in time may cause jaw or teeth issues, but it was the only way to cut down on the "farting" for me. And it definitely does sound like that!

What was your husband's prescript pressure? I cannot imagine what 20 would be like.

Cheers,

mc