hose blockage ?

hi all, I have a Resmed Airsense 10 for her, lately after having the machine on for approx 5min, I get an error message saying tube blockage, I unplug it, have a look - no blockage - I put it back on, the pressure starts at 4 and after approx 5 min it rises to 10.4 and just about blows my ears out. I take it off, repeat the above process and again, after approx 5 min the same thing happens. when I check the sleep report - it says it ha only been on for less than 30 min however, there is still air going through the mask but it is causing bloating and other embarrassing side effects. I am using the Philips Dreamwear nasal mask. cn anyone shed some light on this for me, I am beyond frustrated and my machine is only approx 3 years old. thanks all

I checked the ResMed technical manual for this device. You can find it at this link:

ResMed AirSense Technical Manual

All it says on page 33 under Troubleshooting is this:

"Tubing blocked, check your tubing

Air tubing may be blocked. Check the air tubing and remove any blockages. Press the dial to clear the message and then press Start/Stop to restart the device."

Not much help, if you are sure the hose is clear. Do you have a second hose to try?

Could there be anything plugged in the mask? I recall that the Dreamwear mask directs air down through tubes on each side of your head. Could they be plugged? The mask should have a vent system where air comes out. Could it be plugged or blocked? Do you have another mask to try?

Have you checked the air filter on the left side of the machine? Could it be plugged?

That is about all I can think of. I would check the water reservoir and the fittings where it connects to the machine to see if there is any problem there. Pages 24-27 in the manual show how to take it apart. However I doubt you need to take it apart just to inspect it. Any blockage should be visible.

Do you know what the pressure settings are for the machine? They should display when you first start the machine up. The one in the middle is the current pressure and the two numbers in the top right are the minimum and maximum.

Last you mention that the machine is about 3 years old. The warranty is 3 years so you might want to report the problem right away in case you are in time to make a warranty claim if it is defective.

I just started using the Dreamwear Full Face mask and discovered there are 2 vents on my model. One at the top of my head where the tube connects to the hard plastic elbow on top of the mask. I suspect that is the same for the nasal mask. Check to make sure those holes on the elbow aren't plugged maybe with a safety pin or needle?

I also have a vent on the front of my full face mask but I don't know for sure if the nasal mask will have the same. I suspect it does to let CO2 out near your nose. Being a softer material, I wouldn't use a needle on that portion though.

Those are the places I would look first for plugged vent holes.