About to give up on finding the right mask : HELP ME!

you will learn this the hard way, but eventually everyone does.

There are certain characteristics I look for in a mask, pillows is not one of them, I have a half a dud drawer full of those too, I hated the cold air blowing directly into my nares, felt like I was sleeping with my index finger buried up to the first knuckle wearing those things. But over the years and wasting a lot of money, I learned a few things you need to look for in a conventional mask:

1. Forehead adjustment: or way to pivot the mask. If you develop a leak into your eyes you need a way to stop it. If too much pressure is put on the nose it will leave a gouge to wear to work the next day. Tilting the mask either in or out is the way those get resolved. The forehead support also helps hold the mask in place so it doesn't leak so bad.

2. Leak control: The cushion needs to seal against the skin, if the cushion design has a rolled edge like a jelly mask it can allow the cpap pressure to push it away from your skin and leak, that is why the leading edge of an airplane wing is designed round not sharp like the trailing edge, it gets its lift from the air flowing over the wing, a round edge promotes that effect. A good mask will have a thin skin-like membrane cushion so that as the CPAP air pressure pushes against it, it makes for a better seal. The better the cushion seals against your face the better it will be in comfort as it will require less headgear strap pressure.

3. Release Clips: You are going to have to clean your mask at least once a month. Pretty hard to wash them with the headgear attached. So that means it needs to be easily removable. If it has 4 clips so you don't have to undo your velcro settings, it means you don't loose your headgear adjustment. Don't know how you guys put your mask on/off, but all I do is release the lower right clip and remove it like a umpire mask. The other 3 clips remain attached. So when I need to clean my mask, I remove the clips and the headgear goes with them, I don't lose my settings. I fill a sink with hot tap water and some Dawn liquid hand soap and give it the bar glass cleaning treatment for 30-seconds, rinse and I'm done.

4. Noise: This is as important to me as the above 3. If a mask is noisy I won't use it. They don't have to be noisy. Some are way more noisy than others. My experience with the Nasalaire, Breeze and Swift they were the noisiest interfaces I have ever used. I could have probably gotten used to sleeping with my fingers in my nose but I couldn't stand the noise.

5. Comfort: if the mask seals well (by design) it should require less strap or headgear tension, that alone makes the mask much more comfortable to wear (concept behind the Activa mask). It should also be small and light (removes the sensation you have something on your face). There are some masks that have some of the features and are really good like the revised ComfortGel, but then they went cheap and standardized all their elbow systems and made every mask they have on the market the same. Reason I no longer buy Respironics interfaces. All their latest conventional nasal masks use the same "noisy" elbow system. So not only did they screw up one mask, they screwed them all up.

So if you are sick of those noisy pillow thingees, want something that seals very good and is very light look at the Soyala nasal mask. It doesn't require a lot of strap pressure in fact its headgear is elastic so it is fairly comfortable (if there is such a thing), its elbow system pivots on a ball which allows it to move more than any other elbow system. Its forehead pivot doesn't have a button you push it has 3 slots in addition to the forehead piece adjustment resulting in 9 different setting. Once you find a combination setting that works, it doesn't move. And best of all it is SILENT, you won't find a quieter mask on the market. Its exhaust is so diffused you cannot feel where it is actually coming out, so you don't have to worry about it blowing on your partner. It is my primary mask, think I've been using it since last November and not even a sign of wear.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/Soyala ... dgear.html

Snoredog, as usual, you started my day with a good laugh! Didn't you post detailed instructions about adjusting the Soyala mask a little while ago, or am I thinking of something else?

Dieselgal, I don't think I saw the Twilight NP on your list. I think it's pretty comfortable once I took off the headgear. I guess all those years of "pickin' and flickin'" got me used to nasal pillows! Lately though, I've been having seal problems with it, so I just might try the Soyala once my insurance pays for my next mask in about six weeks .

Good luck with your search - let us know what you decide. I like your "real" Avitar!

Snoredog, I have been looking at that mask and I am wondering how it compares to the mirage activa (assuming that is in your drawer)??? I live in Canada and will be ordering from US so I want to get as much info as I can. The soyola looks a lot like the activa so i am wondering whether you have tried both and how it is better. Thanks in advance for your opinion.