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High air leaks and good AHI readings

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ittiandro +0 points · over 3 years ago Original Poster

Hi I have been on treatment for Sleep Apnea for about 8 months. My AHI are now dramatically down to around 1.6 or less , but sometimes, lately, my air pressure leaks go up to 35 l/min., sometimes, very occasionally, even 50 l/m Should I worry, if the AHI readings are good? THe only reason I ask is that I fear that high air leaks in the long run may cause the compressor to overwork and shorten the life of the machine Lately the velcros on the straps come off. They don’t hold as they used to, because the material of the strap is too smooth and does no longer offer the same grip as before. No doubt a bit cheap. I stitched on new, better velcros and now the mask hold pretty well. In spite of this, there still is, more often than not, a hissing air sound coming off the Resmed mask silicone seal. I’d hate to think that it is worn out after only eight months ( unless there is an obsolescence factor deliberately built in the product by the manufacturer..)

I’d appreciate your comments

Thanks

Ittiandro

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Sierra +0 points · over 3 years ago Sleep Patron

Dealing with mask leaks can be difficult, especially with full face type masks and higher pressures. With ResMed machines the software does not record any events when the leak rate is over the redline (24 L/min). This can make the AHI look lower than it really is. Which specific mask do you have and what machine? Your pressure?

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ittiandro +0 points · over 3 years ago Original Poster

Thanks

It is an Air Sense 10 autoset, full face mask You speak of pressure above 24 l/min. I was speaking of air leaks. Is it the same thing? In fact my "pressure cannot go higher than 15 psi, because the machine is set between 9-15 psi. Also, I get the full data report from the SD with Oscar and the AHI are always recorded even when the leaks are above 24 l/m. Whether they are accurate or not, I don't know, but they seem to be consistent with the overall pattern of the last eight month. Thanks

Ittiandro

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Sierra +0 points · over 3 years ago Sleep Patron

Sorry, I wrote pressure when I was thinking leak rate. I fixed the post.

If you look at the Daily Report from OSCAR you should see grayed out areas where the leak rate is over 24 L/min. I could be wrong, but I don't think you will see any apnea events flagged during that grayed out time. It will still continue to report events outside of the grayed out area where leaks are not over the redline. If you have a significant amount of time in the night over the leak redline it can reduce the overall AHI number.

Some people have had some success with a mask liner on a full face mask. RemZzzs are a commercial brand of them. Some make their own by cutting them out of old t-shirt material.

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