Mouth taping
Hello, I wonder if anyone else has experienced what I have when I use mouth tape. I use a dream wear nasal cushion, I use it because it's the most comfortable for me, but when I fall asleep, my mouth comes open. I use a chin strap (tried 2 different ones) but my mouth still opens, so I use tape to keep it shut, which works fine, but, my tongue will drop during sleep and my mouth fills with air, which is now trapped due to the tape. This happens multiple times and I wake up as soon as it happens. I was wondering if there is anything else I can do to prevent my mouth from filling with air. I'm thinking tonight to leave a small opening for the air to escape, but anticipate that this will give me extreme dry mouth and throat.
Thank you for any suggestions.
P.S. I just can't use the full face cushion, it presses on a bone & causes a bruise. I also have tried the full face mask and have too many air leaks that squeal and wake me up.
RE: Mouth taping
Welcome to the forum,
Are you a side sleeper?
Can you post a copy of your sleep report with your personal info redacted?
Please hide the calendar, device settings will show.
Show these charts, press F12 for a screenshot or Fn F12 for a mac
Event Flags
Flow rate
Leak Rate
Flow limits
Pressure
Resp Rate or tidal volume, not Snore or AHI or time in AHI
RE: Mouth taping
I am a side sleeper.
I don't know where to find any of the items you requested. The software is MyAir and the only things it tells me is Usage, Mask seal, Events/hr, and mask off. Pretty useless. If you're referring to Oscar, I was reluctant to download it due to all the virus warnings it says you'll get. Then, if I do download it, how does it connect to my machine? Thanks for any help, it's much appreciated.
RE: Mouth taping
Most of us use Oscar every day. I've never heard of anyone getting a computer virus from it. I think the warning is because only people on this and one other board even know what Oscar is. There's no danger.
RE: Mouth taping
(04-28-2025, 11:33 AM)dilittlebird Wrote: I use a chin strap (tried 2 different ones) but my mouth still opens, so I use tape to keep it shut, which works fine, but, my tongue will drop during sleep and my mouth fills with air, which is now trapped due to the tape.
Beware/be aware that traditional chin straps aren't designed to actually work. Traditional chin straps wrap around the tip of the chin and the top, back of the head, the problem being that the jaw joint (which is located just in front of the ear) is located on the line between those two points. That means that traditional chin straps force the jaw almost directly into the jaw joint, which is the least effective angle to be applying force for that purpose.
I'd suggest you look into the Knightsbridge Dual Band, which has straps which pass under the jaw and lift vertically to work with the natural rotation of the jaw. (Please use the link of Supplier #37. With a keyword search you will likely end up with a counterfeit. Hopefully, this problem will be rectified soon ...)
RE: Mouth taping
(04-28-2025, 11:33 AM)dilittlebird Wrote: I was wondering if there is anything else I can do to prevent my mouth from filling with air. You can try a soft cervical collar to keep your chin from dropping.
Quote:I'm thinking tonight to leave a small opening for the air to escape, but anticipate that this will give me extreme dry mouth and throat.
That would just create a leak!
Quote: P.S. I just can't use the full face cushion, it presses on a bone & causes a bruise. I also have tried the full face mask and have too many air leaks that squeal and wake me up.
Try a different type of full face mask. You may have to try several to find one that fits properly.
The problem of course that pressurized CPAP air is escaping into your mouth because you don't have a good seal between the back of your tongue and the roof of your mouth. With a full face mask the air in your mouth is pressurized by the CPAP machine so it doesn't matter if there's a seal between the back of your tongue and the roof of your mouth because the pressure is the same in your throat as it is in your mouth.
"Knowledge isn't free, you have to pay attention." R.P. Feynman.
RE: Mouth taping
I have another question about using Oscar with my Cpap, it's the ResMed 10 autosense and the software is MyAir. There is no sd card in the machine, when I look at the owner's manual it says it doesn't use an SD card, (there is a slot for it though). So if I do get an SD card and download Oscar will it work? If it's worked for anyone else with this machine, I'll go ahead and order an SD card and download Oscar.
Since I posted the original post, I've found out that my tongue drops down and allows the air to enter my mouth, thus the puffed up cheeks when my mouth is taped. I did try the full mask the last two nights and it still has some leaks, I used a cloth cover that I've ordered in the past and it helps with the irritation of the silicone and seems to make the leaking less. But still leaks, ughh! It worked better than the face cushions that I wanted to use.
I read on one of the posts that CPAP doesn't really work with a prolapsed pallet. The only thing I've seen to do for that is tongue exercises to help strengthen the tongue muscles. Any other suggestions?
Thank you to Lawrence Shaw for the suggestion about the chin strap.
RE: Mouth taping
I had a ResMed 10 Autoset with an SD slot at the top of the left side. Yes, Oscar will work that way.
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