CPAP machine noise

Hawthorne wrote:I have the same machine as BeanMeScot. I have it on a small table that sits just below my mattress. It is sitting on a computer mouse pad and I have the "whisper cap" on it as well.

I have to strain to hear it at all.

ditto for me. especially after I attached it to the humidifier.
plus I place a cloth on it to cover the blue light.

My IntelliPAP machine is intrinsically very quiet. I do hear the characteristic whine that some users of this machine have complained about. It doesn't bother me. (But then again, I can sleep successfully at noisy TV transmitter sites and rock concerts!) The machine sits on a stack of books (for now) next to the bed, and a bit below it. I do plan to place it on a more permanent stand, which I will either build or find at a garage sale. Based on the suggestions here, I will make sure it has a very heavy top. (I have some marble slabs that may work for a top.)

I was very concerned about how noisy the machine and mask would be, not because I can't tolerate the noise (see above), but because it would mask the roaring of the lions next door (A really beautiful sound, but not as loud as you might think). It does mask the roaring, but not all the time. The other thing I feared it would mask was the sound of rain. Rain at night is not common here in Western Nevada, so listening to the rain on the roof is a special treat. Last night, it poured, and it easily swamped out the sound of the machine

One good sound the machine masks is the sound of the superhighway just 500 feet behind the house. I live uphill from the road, which makes it worse. That road noise (and the fact that nothing radio-related seems to work well due to the configuration of the nearby mountains) is one of the few disadvantages to where I live, and I don't miss it for a moment.

Early on, I had given much thought to designing a two piece xPAP machine-- a blower and a separate regulator. This would be designed so the blower could be put in another room. The regulator could be enclosed (or 'blimped', the TV/movie production term) such that its operation would be silent or very nearly so. This would leave only the mask noise to deal with, and most of the time, this seems to be minimal.

Somewhere(maybe on this forum) there was a story about a guy who cut a hole in the wall behind his bed and put the unit on the other side of the wall.... I considered it until I got the whisper cap and a white noise machine:)

timbalionguy wrote:I can sleep successfully at noisy TV transmitter sites

Off-topic question: why are TV transmitter sites noisy? I've never been to one, but always imagined they'd sound much like a computer data center, i.e., lots of sleep-friendly white noise from the equipment cooling fans and HVAC.

Back on topic, I'm very pleased with how quiet the Intellipap is. It's significantly quieter then the air noise from the mask.

I dunno, but I've used a HEPA filter in my room for years so the sound of that generally drowns out the sound of the CPAP.

SkipperH wrote:I had to use a fan the other night because it was warm, I noticed that the fan drowned out the CPAP machine noise and I slept better. I don't think it's the noise so much that may be keeping me up but rather anticipating the timing of air pressure. In other words, I feel I must breathe in time with the machine, which I believe keeps me awake. Can anyone relate to this?

Well good morning,

I have just found this site. I am so tired and cranky with lack of sleep. I have had this for a week and very, very little. Hope when I go to work this afternoon that I am easy on the kids. I was reading all your posts and see that I am not losing my mind about the noise. I thought it was just me. i will try the towel under it but I thought it was not supposed to be on anything soft. Guess i will try that tonight.

thanks for your comments Ann

I would be cautious about using anything that restricts air flow around the machine.
Early on (about 15 years ago) I made the mistake of putting the machine in a cupboard to reduce the noise. I woke up with an anxiety type attack. I think there was a CO2 build-up.

I've thought about placing the machine in a room next to mine and passing the hose through a hole in the wall. Yes, creative. But, I essentially got used to the noise.

I do use 2 hoses connected together so I can place the machine at the foot of my bed. I had heard that you can do that without reducing air pressure. And, I would think that for the new auto-adjusting machine that increase pressure depending on detected apnea using an extra hose length would not be a problem. Any thoughts on this?

ZZZZzzzzzzz..........