Mask Exhale Ratings

Hi all! I recently "upgraded" to a Resmed n30 mask. I was surprised to find that breating out was very difficult compared to my prior mask (Respironics Dreamwear). So three questions:

1. Am I doing something wrong which is causing the mask to be so difficult to exhale with?
2. Going forward, is there a metric that mask manufacturers provide to let a buyer know which masks have greater freedom to exhale?
3. Any mask recommendations for an n30 competitor (love the mask other that this one issue) but with a much more free outflow?

Thanks!!

NB: Using an Airsense 11. EPR is set to 3. I changed nothing but the masks when testing.

There shouldn't be any difference in how hard it is to exhale. What mask did you "upgrade" from?

Respironics Dreamwear Nasal cradle. It only has one little hole in the front for air to get out. On the face of it the n30 seems like it would have equal or greater exit holes.

I have never tried the N30mask, but I did try the Dreamwear a couple years ago. I found it to be very comfortable to wear, but I could never control my mouth breathing, so I went back to my full face mask. If I could have controlled the mouth breathing, I probably would have stayed with the Dreamwear mask.

Just out of curiosity, did you ever try a chin strap or mouth tape to prevent mouth breathing?

I tried chin straps and found them to be uncomfortable. I also tried taping, and the tape either didn't stick very long, or I would react to it and start breaking out. I had UPPP surgery about twenty six years ago and that reshaped the soft pallet which may be part of the reason I have so much trouble using a nasal mask. When I was first tested for sleep apnea in 1996, the technician that did my test recommended I look into the surgery since I could not use a nasal mask. At that time I had a verry badly deviated septum which made using a nasal mask difficult to use.

Okie bipap wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 21, 2022 4:17 pm

I tried chin straps and found them to be uncomfortable. I also tried taping, and the tape either didn't stick very long, or I would react to it and start breaking out. I had UPPP surgery about twenty six years ago and that reshaped the soft pallet which may be part of the reason I have so much trouble using a nasal mask. When I was first tested for sleep apnea in 1996, the technician that did my test recommended I look into the surgery since I could not use a nasal mask. At that time I had a verry badly deviated septum which made using a nasal mask difficult to use.

Thanks for explaining!

msg43 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 20, 2022 7:42 pm

I recently "upgraded" to a Resmed n30 mask. I was surprised to find that breating out was very difficult compared to my prior mask (Respironics Dreamwear).

There should not be a noticeable difference. Are the mask slots well-centered directly under your nostrils? Are the slots the appropriate size for your nostrils?

Have you slept all night with the ResMed mask?

Thanks for your reply.

The nice thing about the DreamWear is the large “slot” for air in the cradle. It means that air easily finds the nares even if it is slightly out of alignment.

The Resmed also has a similar inflow slot. Instead of a simple outflow slot it has a complicated set of laser drilled slots and vents. I tried sleeping with it and felt that the exhalations required tremendous force. Almost like there is an cover which needed to be removed before first use. I checked the manual but no sign of one.

I had to change masks at 3am. I feel like I am missing something obvious.



It is really a mystery.

msg43 wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 21, 2022 4:56 pm

I feel like I am missing something obvious.

There does seem to be something odd. It gets 4.1 of 5 stars on cpap.com - https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... er-reviews