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Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
#1
Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
Hey all,

New CPAP user and therefore very new to these forums... looking for some advice as my wife has some concerns that my mask (pillows) sounds like it is about to achieve terminal velocity.

At some stage during the night (usually around 2am-4am), she complains that the air flow coming out of the vent is very loud to the point it wakes her up and no re-adjustment from me seems to stop this.

Not sure of how to resolve this... or even where to look. I have only been using my CPAP (ResMed S9 Autoset with humidifier) for about 4 months... plus the trial with my doctor.

Thanks in advance
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#2
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
Hi justinfreeman - welcome.

Based on my experience, I suspect that your machine is adjusting up in pressure as you sleep.

This is normal operation - especially if you end up on your back at some stage.

I find that my pressures are lower when I sleep on my side.

One of the big issues with CPAP therapy is the PAF. (Partner acceptance factor)

I found that I needed to lie on my side facing away from my wife to allow her to sleep undisturbed...

I have used a Pilairo mask fir the last year - and found it was particularly noisy and had a strong 'exhaust' blast. None-the-less I found it very comfortable and very effective in reducing my AHI below the figure I had with the previous full face mask.

Fisher and Paykel have obviously been seeing what is going on and produced the Pilairo Q which has a fabric diffuser over the exhaust port and as a result is much quieter and has almost an imperceptible exhaust flow.

That might be an alternative for you to try if you cant get the Swift to work for you.

Good Luck with the therapy.

Cheers

David



By the way - where do you live.
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#3
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
Thanks David. Yeh, now you mention it... it does seem to be when I am on my back - which is obviously when I suffer the most events. And the cause is what I assumed - additional pressure ramp up.

My CPAP tech did mention to me a few weeks ago about possibly retro-fitting the vent to apply some gauze or something similar... rigging something up to basically diffuse the flow. I wasn't aware of the Fisher and Paykel mask.

The funny thing with my wife is that once I got the machine - she found that it wasn't me keeping her awake as I am pretty much silent in comparison to life prior to having the machine. Time for her to have a sleep study done I think.

Cheers

Justin
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#4
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
All good Justin...

My wife used to blame me for waking her up - but now it seems that the reality is that she just doesn't sleep well...

Being in Perth you should keep an eye out for 'Deepbreathing' who has a lot of good stuff to say on this forum. He is in Perth and seems pretty helpful...
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#5
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
In my experience, most complaints of loud noise aren't from the vent but from something else.

1) Are you getting leaks around the pillows once the pressure increases at night. You may need a click or two tighter on the top strap.

2) Are you leaking out of your mouth (do you wake up with excessive dry mouth)

3) Is a blanket/sheet/arm right up to your face so the vent leak is blowing on that which will make it sound much louder

If you are sure it is vent noise, the Airfit P10 is quieter than the Swift FX.
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#6
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
Thanks for the reply Jaycee. In response to your comments...

1) Possibly - I do have a beard although I try to keep it rather well trimmed but it could be a bad seal leading up to a trim. It could be slight leakage - or of course I could simply do with a slight tighten up. Will give it a go tonight.

2) I do have a chin strap as I initially did suffer from mouth leakage. I was struggling with very dry mouth to the point I thought I had a cold for about a month. Hasn't really been much of problem since then though.

3) No.
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#7
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
Hi justinfreeman,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more responses to your post and best of luck to you with your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
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#8
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
I used that mask for a very short time. The noise woke up the miserable cats and that made my wife unhappy which in turn made me unhappy. So now I use the Resmed P10 mask and it is way quiet.. I can't imagine a universe in which I would return to the other mask.
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#9
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
(05-19-2014, 05:44 AM)justinfreeman Wrote: My CPAP tech did mention to me a few weeks ago about possibly retro-fitting the vent to apply some gauze or something similar... rigging something up to basically diffuse the flow. I wasn't aware of the Fisher and Paykel mask.

No. No. No. Nonononono.

And No.

That flow is letting out CO2. Disrupt that flow, and you run the risk of CO2 backing up in your system. The masks that are coming out now that have diffused vents have been tested and retested to ensure they are still properly venting enough air while still being quiet.

Your CP tech is trying to kill you.

When you wake up and the mask is making that roar, determine if it is a leak. Pull the mask away from your nose/face and then re-seat it.

If the noise does not go away, reach over and turn the machine off, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on. This will reset the possible over-excitement of the pressure.

If the sound continues, check the hoses. I once had a swivel connector --between the mask's hose and the machine's hose -- that if twisted a certain way, would leak really bad. And since I usually had it tucked under the pillow or near the pillow, it would make a LOT of noise. It took us nearly a week to track down where it was coming from and how it did it.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#10
RE: Swift FX Nasal Pillows - Achieving Lift-Off
But Paula, some of the manufacturers (F&P for one) create their quiet vents by putting loose filter material or other material over the vents. The Fisher and Paykel Zest Q mask has less vent area than the Zest (no Q) and they put a non-woven fabric over the vents. The reduction in air flow seems substantial to me. I have used both. I did not like the way the vents on the Q version were set-up at all and I went back to the non Q version until I got my Mirage Quattro. My only point here is that apparently F&P did not think the reduction in venting was a problem.

With my Mirage Quattro, I think one could put some gauze over the vents without substantially degrading the CO2 reduction. At least not at my 20 cm/H2O because I get a lot of exhaust but little noise.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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