[CPAP] Experiencing hoarse, raspy voice with CPAP. Has anyone found a solution?

[HaL R]

Hello everyone. 

For several months I've experienced a hoarse, raspy voice for most of the day after using my CPAP. 

This being summer, I currently have the humidity setting on 3 and the Resmed 10 uses about 1/2 a tub of distilled water per night. I always use the humidifier and clean the mask, hoses and accessories weekly.  

Thanks for any advice you can offer me.

Hal

[Geer1]

I am not familiar with CPAP causing this issue. Any chance it could be reflux related? Chronic cough and hoarse voice are common symptoms.

[srlevine1]

I experienced similar symptoms. (I am a non-smoker.)

My first thought was to make sure I was well hydrated before bed and to increase the humidity level to 8 on my S10. Sometimes at the max setting, my humidifier would run dry. Not much I could do other than a refill.

My second line of defense was to rule out mouth-breathing (leaks), post-nasal drip, and (per Geer1) acid reflux (GERD).
I used a sore-throat lozenge in the morning to solve any discomfort.
You might mention this to your doctor to rule out infections and other conditions that produce hoarseness.

Best wishes.

[Jeff8356]

Do you happen to have seasonal allergies or anything?  Allergies can have some unexpected side effects like hoarse voice and coughing.

Any chance you use some type of inhaler for asthma/copd?  Or any other meds?

Might be worth mentioning it to your Dr. or get a refferal to an ENT or Allergy specialist.

[HaL R]

Thanks, Jeff and others. I do have some allergies to pollen but this started before the "pollen" season. Another person replied that it might be acid reflux. My daughter though it might be a low grade acid reflux reaction to an evening snack or decafe coffee. I started taking a mild acid reducer and that seems to be an improvement. It will take a week or more to really tell for sure.

Thanks much for your reply.
Hal

[Geer1]

Try cutting out the evening snack and any other food and drinks that aggravate reflux (alcohol, coffee, pop etc) approx 3 hrs before bed.

If bad enough you can try a wedge pillow, elevating head of bed or investigate diet to try and find food that aggravates your reflux (for me was dairy and gluten).

[HaL R]

Thank you all for responses. To put some closure on this and maybe help others, I've found that I have acid reflux after spicy food, like my favorite spaghetti.  So now I take a half of an OTC acid reducer (Famotidine tablet). It's best when I take it 20 minutes pror to eating.

Hal