EB1979

I have been using it for about 2.5 months. Even with the chin strap I am still opening my mouth. Last night I was having this dream and this person I know was in it and she kept making the most annoying nasaly sighing sounds every 3 or 4 seconds or so while I was trying to talk to her and I kept thinking why the hell is she making those sounds - then I started to come out of my sleep a bit and realized it was my mouth making these buzzing sounds like air trying to escape.

Funny as it is, it's seriously annoying.

I have the same problem (https://myapnea.org/forum/keeping-mouth-shut), interested to see if you find anything that really helps.

My events per hour are really low, but the problem is I get woken up throughout the night by the noises of the air escaping and sometimes I cannot get back to sleep with the mask on so I end up removing it, sleeping for 2 hours without and waking up feeling tired

I tried it - it didn't work well for me. I was still waking up quite tired. My friend has been using one for some time and his jaw is completely messed up. He can't get it back to the correct position.

I think it's a Phillips. I can make it tighter but when I do it's uncomfortable and I can't fall asleep.

I've tried the full face mask, it's a definite no go. There's no way it could work for me.

My scores are really good with it (typically below 3 events per hour). The problem is I wake up because of the sound of air "squeaking" out of my closed mouth.

There's been a few times I've woken up and for a second I wonder if I even have the sleep apnea gear on so I know I'm getting used to it. I think the main problem is that I am a light sleeper and so the sound of the air will wake me up.

I suppose I could try the surgical tape, although with a beard, I can't imagine it being too comfortable.

I breath through my nose during the day but for some reason I open it at night. I tried a full face mask and it's definitely a no-go so they gave me a chin strap to pair with the nasal pillows. Even with this, there are still leaks (squeaking noises my lips make as air is forced through them).

The chin strap is also quite uncomfortable. If I could I would just use the nasal pillows as I actually find it quite comfortable. Unfortunately, the leak rate is always terrible when I use the pillows without the chin strap.

Any tips on keeping mouth closed?

Hello all,

First, here are some details about my equipment and some stats:

Machine: ResMed AirSense 10

Mask: Nasal pillows

Pressure: 6 (I think)

Humidity: 7

Average events per hour: < 4 (usually around 2 or so)

Average time used each night: 4 hrs

Weight: 165lbs

Height: 5' 11"

Sleep apnea seems to be genetic (my father had it). I also suffer from depression at times which can make sleep difficult. It also creates this cycle of not sleeping well, feeling depressed, being unable to work out and on and on.

Apologies for the lengthy post.

I was prescribed CPAP 2 years ago. At the time I was starting a high pressure job at one of the best agencies in North America. I couldn't get used to the machine and I was way more tired with wearing it so I decided to stop. There was no way I could show up at that job feeling like I did and expect to perform at the level that was required. At that time the main issue was that I would open my mouth and air would escape through it and wake me up. I could not get a good seal on the mask.

Since then I left that job and took 6 months off to travel. I decided that I am tired of this foggy feeling and memory issues and a perceived decrease in cognitive ability and mostly I am tired of feeling tired. I feel like I always want to lay down. I don't drowse off and I never fall asleep at the wheel or anything like that, but I always seem to want to lay down. I never feel refreshed or well rested when I wake up.

I went back to the doctor and picked up another CPAP machine; this time around they gave me a chin strap to help keep my mouth closed while I sleep. I cannot do a full face mask because I have a beard and could never seem to get a good seal on it. I picked up the device on October 10 and I have used it every night but one since then.

When I first set out to go to sleep I feel fine, even kind of cosy with the mask and chin strap on. I tend to shift positions a lot before I finally fall asleep so that can be a bit awkward with the nasal pillows mask but I do fall asleep pretty quick (I have a white noise CD that I play that has 30 minutes of waves and 30 minutes of thunderstorms and I never hear the thunderstorms. I feel like I'm usually asleep in 5 - 10 mins).

However, I do not sleep a full night with it and I never feel refreshed when I wake up. If anything I am more tired most of the time. If you look at the data sometimes I go 3 hours, sometimes 5, sometimes even 7. I wake up from something (I think it's usually due to leakage) and then I can't seem to go back to sleep with the mask on so I remove it. My events per hour are usually quite low. Every mask I have tried hurts my nose.

When I talk to the people at the ENT clinic they of course say that everything looks great and to keep wearing it. Getting sleep with the device on and reducing the events is super important. So quantitatively everything is great, but qualitatively it is not. I get that I am reducing my chances of diabetes, hear disease and stroke; but what's the point if I am so tired that I can barely function most of the time? If I am doing 7 hours with the mask on (according to the stats) but it is broken sleep, in and out all night; how is that any different than not wearing the mask, and coming out of REM sleep because I have stopped breathing?

The main purpose for me getting this and wanting to try so hard with it is because I don't want to be tired anymore. I want to wake up refreshed at 7am, do a workout, eat a good breakfast and kill it at work. I'm starting a new job at another amazing agency in about 2 weeks and I want to try my best so that I can do just that.

Any tips? Could something be wrong with the machine? My settings?

I should note as well that every morning the stats on the machine have a smiley face where "Mask Seal" is concerned which makes no sense to me because I can hear leakage and even if I pull the mask off and the air streams out, you still get the smiley face.

The chin strap is also becoming quite uncomfortable now and hurts my jaw while I am sleeping (this goes away in the morning when I take it off luckily). Even with the chin strap, there is still leakage. Last night I felt like the pressure increased to some unwieldy amount and I could barely keep my mouth closed.

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Apologies again for the lengthy post, I just wanted to be as detailed as possible.

Best, Evan