CPAPtalk.com

Hi everyone.

I've been reading, with great interest, the many Posts by people who have reported a Bird Like/Whoooo/Coooo sound coming from thier Resmed S9 machines. The sound occurs at the end of the exhale. It has been reported to often times come and go, and sometimes disappear completely.... or disappear and then return after some time has passed.

So what I'd like to know is..... How many users of ther Resmed S9 (Autoset or otherwise) DO NOT have any sounds similar to what has been reported.

Is it a case of the vocal minority ? People tend to complain when there is such an annoyance, but say nothing if they have no problem.

I'd appreciate the feedback.

Thanks, Tim

I have never noticed this sound. I'm wondering if it could be related to EPR, which I don't use. Especially with an EPR setting of 3, there would be a cycle between pressures on exhale and inhale, which might be audible in certain situations.

Most people who complain of noises report that after putting a sound absorbing material (rubber mat, mousepad, etc) underneath the S9, the sound goes away.

RandyJ wrote:I have never noticed this sound. I'm wondering if it could be related to EPR, which I don't use. Especially with an EPR setting of 3, there would be a cycle between pressures on exhale and inhale, which might be audible in certain situations.

Most people who complain of noises report that after putting a sound absorbing material (rubber mat, mousepad, etc) underneath the S9, the sound goes away.

So what EPR setting would get rid of it? I have the noise and my EPR setting is 3. I don't even know what EPR is so I'm not sure I want to mess with that setting. The only settings I feel comfortable in changing are the pressure and ramp.

I use a ResMed S9 VPAP. I do faintly hear a machine noise of some sort on exhale. It is so faint that I have to noticeably focus on listening for it. I did this when you first starting raising the question of noise from the machine. Definitely not mask venting noise. My husband reports that he also has to really "strain" to hear any machine noise. He says that for the most part the only thing he ever hears if he wakes in the night is mask venting noise and that is very minimal. He has been known to put his hand over my face to feel for mask or venting air to confirm that the machine is even on. He says that the machine is that quiet.
He reports that some nights he hears some venting and some nights he doesn't. He may be hearing some venting bouncing off the bed covers. I don't know since I am asleep.

It is a machine and machines do produce some noise. I think that some people may be more sensitive to some sounds and tones than others. I have had my hearing checked and it is entirely normal.
The sound I hear can't be described as a bird chip by any means. It is hard to put into words because it is so faint. It certainly does not cause me to lose any sleep but it might someone else.

Bilevel machines are noted to be a bit "noisier"..it is the nature of what they do with the changing of pressures. I have never used a S9 Autoset. I have used the VPAP in straight cpap mode. Again minimal noise on exhale. Prior to the VPAP I have used a PR S1 APAP....again mainly mask venting noise is all I have ever heard but if I strain and focus long enough...I can hear machine noise.

I do NOT use EPR (pressure = 6 cm H20), but I do indeed hear the sound at the end of exhale.
At least to me, it's not annoying -- it's very faint and I don't hear it unless I'm concentrating to do so. It has never prevented me from sleeping in any way.
Jason

I don't hear anything. I have my machine next to my head on my bed side table. The line runs up to a loop on the top of my bed post and back down to my mask. I'm literally 12-18" inches from my machine and I never hear a sound.

I don't hear anything. I have my machine next to my head on my bed side table. I'm literally 12-18" inches from my machine and I never hear a sound.
(plagiarism is a sincere compliment, Maxie Hehehe... )
I have EPR = 1.

junior49 wrote: So what EPR setting would get rid of it? I have the noise and my EPR setting is 3. I don't even know what EPR is so I'm not sure I want to mess with that setting. The only settings I feel comfortable in changing are the pressure and ramp.

EPR stands for Exhale Pressure Relief, I believe. It can change your exhale pressure by 1cm, 2cm or 3cm less than your therapy pressure. If you turn it off it will not change the pressure and your inhale and exhale pressure would be at the therapy pressure. I'm using an apap range of 14-16cm right now and I don't feel like I need EPR at all. I have tried it but don't like it. You could try turning it off to see whether the sound goes away or not, and whether you miss the EPR in your therapy.

If you press the Setup button and you see EPR at the top of the next screen, you just have to press the big round button down once to highlight it, and then you can change the setting by turning the knob left or right.

If you don't see EPR when you press setup, you have to go into the Clinician's Menu to change it. Cpaplibrary.com's video can show you how to do that and shows you all of the settings: http://www.cpaplibrary.com/machine-education

When I used the S9 AutoSet it was quiet but then again once I take my hearing aids out it could sound like a Mack truck and it would be quiet to me. Does have it's advantages at times to be hard of hearing.

Does this noise only happen with higher pressures or is it for all pressures?
Ed M.

I don't have any sound from my machine that I notice. I do have it sitting on a mat though,
works good.

I DO have the noise as I've expressed in other posts. I've been sleeping with silcon earplugs, drown out the noise but also my alarmclock This is the first I'm hearing about the EPR possibly causing the noise, I will look into this tonight.
How annoyed will my Dr be at me changing the setting? will shuting off epr really not cause any negative things to happen ?

SneakerPumpernicle wrote:How annoyed will my Dr be at me changing the setting? will shuting off epr really not cause any negative things to happen ?

EPR is considered a comfort feature and normally no one cares if comfort features are adjusted.
EPR causes a reduction in pressure during the exhale phase of breathing. 1 cm reduction per setting.
There is really nothing negative that can happen with turning off EPR except maybe an increase in aerophagia (if one happens to be prone to it) or sleep disruption if they find that they really like the EPR feature and exhaling against full pressure is disruptive to sleep itself.

My Dri-Store (for my hearing aid) makes more noise than my Autoset.

no noticeable noise from mine....