Aura temptation

Not to steal any thunder from Lori's review but my Aura arrived yesterday. I tried it out last night for the first time. I hope its okay to post it in this thread. My only other experience is the Ultra Mirage FF and I have all of 14 days with that.

The Aura takes up significantly less real estate on my face. It is very light and easy to fit. I had wondered whether it was going to be more difficult exhaling with pillows but it was pretty similar to the FF mask.

My nares are different sizes and I noticed a little discomfort on one side but it was not too bad. I didn't wake up with the degree of soreness I have seen others report in using nasal pillow. I may try Ayr or something similar to see if that makes a difference.

I had a lot of trouble with the Ultra Mirage and leaks the first few nights but absolutely zero runaways with the Aura. My leak rate was about one or two tenths in l/s higher than the UM overall. The seal felt fine for inhale but a bit leaky on the exhale. I thought that might be the nature of the beast but I am going to experiment a little more with the fit. I did take a leap of faith here in that I have slotted nares and I went against the sizing guide advice but again the seal was not a big problem.

I am a little concerned that my AHI is up to about 5.9 compared to keeping it at 4 or less with the UM but I hope it is an adjustment issue. On the other hand, my acoustical vibrations and flow runs are the lowest I have seen. I wonder, though, whether the distance to the small sensing hose in the PB 420E makes a difference.

One thing I didn't think to research is the availability of replacement pillows. I didn't see anything on cpap.com for them. The manual that comes with the mask refers to Extra Large pillows but I have not found where these are available.

I did wake up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep for reasons unrelated to the mask. Over the last week or so, I have had trouble finding a sleeping position that I didn't wake up with sore muscles and I had to get up for an hour or so and let that dissipate.

I did wake up a little more congested than usual after I took the mask off. That's something I'll have to keep an eye on.

The most important test, how do I feel today? Overall, pretty good I must say. I have been having pretty good results with the UM mask and I no longer find myself fighting to stay awake. I am not quite where I hope to be with the therapy but my alertness, ability to think, remember, and stay awake is so much higher than it was 2 weeks ago!

Overall, I found the Aura much easier to sleep with and adjust to.

Many thanks to RG for the suggestion.

Michael,
Steal my thunder? Don't be silly. I'm glad you wrote that post. Mine is due on the 13th and it is good to hear from others on their experiences, especially a new Aura user like yourself.

Now, one thing RG did mention was that for a man, the straps might be fine as far as tightening enough to keep the headgear secure. You didn't mention any problems with it, so I will presume you had none. That is the one thing that concerns me. But I refuse to worry about things that haven't happened yet. God gives you enough to worry about without those.

In the meanwhile, do you use a heated humidifier? The nasal pillow interfaces are a bit tougher, I've found, on the nasal passages as you are not inhaling to get the air, but rather are having it forced into your passages directly all night. Some people find relief from using the hh. I personally don't need it or use it, but it's summer here on LI and we'll have to see what happens when the winter comes and the air is less humid. Also, most people do need a few nights of use with nasal pillows at first to toughen up the nares. If you find it gets too much, then switch back to the UM for a couple of nights and then start up again with the Aura. But from what everyone writes about it, it has the softest of all pillows out there. And I, too, have more slotted nares than round, so good to hear that wasn't a problem. There is no problem for me with my Swift, either.

I'm glad you found it a good experience overall. Gives me more hope that I may have success, too. RG said they were planning on making XLG pillows, but didn't know if they had yet. I was suprised to hear they mentioned them in the booklet. Also, did you see RG's picture of what she did to make hers work better? I will include the link. viewtopic.php?t=2650 She talked about using the leg from women's tights to secure the part that holds the pillows tighter, as you can see in the picture.

Please keep posting as you gather new insight into this new interface. I would find it really helpful if you would. Thanks again.

I've been contemplating the Aura, to try, and will be interested in how sleepless does especially after using my two favorite interfaces, the Swift and the Activa. But I travel a lot and sometimes share a hotel room and I get enough flack about my cpap with out resorting to pantyhose straps

Lori, if it can be used out of the box and is better/as good as the others, I may be tempted. But I don't have RG's love of cutting them up and experimenting. Especially when pantyhose and panty liners are involved

Especially when pantyhose and panty liners are involved

Come on, R&R, what's wrong with a little experimentation with pantyhose and liners? Don't go getting all chauvenistic on us, now (LOL).

I will pray that it will be an out-of-the-box interface, but something deep down is telling me otherwise. Have I ever been an out-of-the-box type of person when it's come to anything CPAP so far? Well, maybe treatment overall. I really took to it kind of quick and got results relatively quick, but masks and me??? Do we need to go there? I even have trouble now with my Activa leaking. Very few people do. Do I need to repost the picture of myself that I had before in another post? I'm sure you don't want to see that again...

In any event, I won't have it until Tuesday, so hopefully Wednesday morning will be the first time I'll be able to give any feedback at all. I would think, though, being a man, you have a better chance at success with it than women do, at least according to our resident expert RG. I know WillSucceed didn't like Aura at all, but I don't know of very many other men who have disliked it. Actually, there aren't that many recommendations or otherwise about it on this site. Whenever I ask for opinions on this, not very many people reply. Maybe I'll search the other forums on the Internet and see what people have to say there.

So hang in there and I'll let you know what I think. You know me and my big mouth will have SOMETHING to say. Just remember, though, I was in the minority of those who didn't like the Breeze and I think most people think it's the best thing out there. So take what I say as just my humble opinion as that is all I have to offer.

Well, I have a Breeze and use it sometimes but I am not a fan either.


I don't think you get much feedback on the aura because it is by a new startup company and not many have tried it. Add to that very few DMEs will even carry it.

I draw the line at duct tape, I used to have a beard

Add to that very few DMEs will even carry it.

And that, my good man, is why I paid out-of-pocket for it. NONE of the approved DME's I can use carry it or can order it. I couldn't believe it. So like the Swift AND the Breeze, this one is also out-of-pocket. I didn't know when I ordered the Swift and Breeze that my insurance company doesn't put a time limit on when you can order a new mask. Amazing. So I paid for all but my first two masks, the Oracle and the Activa, myself. I am willing to pay if it means getting a better night's sleep. It really is important to me as I have a very hectic schedule every day and need to get as much beneficial sleep as possible. Not that others don't, but I'm willing to pay anything to get it, within reason of course.

"Sleepless on LI"

Now, one thing RG did mention was that for a man, the straps might be fine as far as tightening enough to keep the headgear secure. You didn't mention any problems with it, so I will presume you had none. That is the one thing that concerns me. But I refuse to worry about things that haven't happened yet. God gives you enough to worry about without those.

In the meanwhile, do you use a heated humidifier? The nasal pillow interfaces are a bit tougher, I've found, on the nasal passages as you are not inhaling to get the air, but rather are having it forced into your

I did not have any trouble with the headgear other than having to stand in front of a mirror the first time I put it on to make sure I got it correctly. It does seem to be rather large but I didn't have trouble getting it tightened enough.

I have a h/h but so far have not used it at all. That may be something to try now but I want to give it another night or two and see what happens.

I did see RG's modifications a while back. Probably a good thing to look at again.

I will keep you posted.

Hey, guys....don't avoid the Aura because of what I did to mine! Average or large men aren't gonna have to resort to sissifying their Aura.

Aura's headgear was made for you fellows. If the Extra Large nasal pillows are available by now (I don't know if they are), you're in business.

As for concerns about slotted nares wearing nasal pillows interfaces, and what the sizing guide sez about that. Pffft.

With nasal pillows it's size that matters, not shape, imho. The sooner Johnny takes down the "round vs slotted" stuff from the sizing guide, and includes nasal pillows interfaces as recommended interfaces for everyone, the better.

There's no telling how many people have been scared away from buying and trying the more comfortable nasal pillows interfaces already, simply because of the sizing guide's notions about nare shapes. The pictures of how to measure are excellent and useful as a how-to guide. The info about "slotted" nares is not.

RG.

You must be right about the slotted/round nares and nasal pillow interfaces. I have had no problem with the Swift and I'm more slotted than round.

Great review, FMichael.

You mentioned wondering about this:

I wonder, though, whether the distance to the small sensing hose in the PB 420E makes a difference.

I don't think that would matter much. After all, the PB 420E with its extra sensor line was designed to read PB's Breeze well. Both the Breeze and Aura's narrow connector hoses are about the same distance from snout to where the sensor line that's inside the main air hose for the 420E ends -- at the connection of mask hose with main air hose. Shouldn't be a problem, imho.

One of the original designers of the Breeze designed the Aura. Neat, huh? (Act like I didn't say that, Lori. )

(Act like I didn't say that, Lori.)

SAY WHAT ????

And I thought we were friends...the pain!

But on a lighter note, they couldn't do this to me two times, right? The odds now have been lowered and I should like this one. Right? RIGHT? R I G H T ? ? ? ?

please say I'm right...and mean it sincerely

What? If you have slotted nares then nasal pillows won't work for you? I recommended the swift to a friend of mine and he has slotted nares (though not quite as slotted as the skinny pinched ones from the girl in the picture). Why would the swift not work for him?

I think we need to get some slotted-nared individuals who actually have OSA and use CPAP nightly with a nasal pillow mask to weigh in here and tell us like it is.

When you put something in your nostril, the tissue conforms to what's in it, doesn't it? For instance, your finger. (Not to be gross, but just bear with me for a minute while I try to make my point.) If you follow the theory that slotted nares cannot accommodate roundish nasal pillows, then you must believe a finger can't fit into a nose with slotted nares because the fingertip is roundish. Heck, I would think slotted nares might have an advantage with roundish nasal pillows due less potential gapping.

So what's the truth about slotted nares?

Anyone?

friend of mine and he has slotted nares (though not quite as slotted as the skinny pinched ones from the girl in the picture).

Ummmm...I think I read that Johnny said the slotted nares picture was of his own nostrils. I could be remembering wrong.

Anyone?

So what's the truth about slotted nares?

Good question.