Conducts noise from TV audio

[RSki]

I have a Philips DreamStation CPAP machine.  It is new and very quiet.  No noise from filters, hoses, masks or humidification.  

Here's my problem. I live in an apartment building.  At night it is dead quiet.  I put on the CPAP machine and mask and it is very quiet.  If the neighbor in the adjoining apartment above me turns on the TV, I can hear the audio with my CPAP machine on and running.  If I turn off the machine, I cannot hear any sound coming from the TV.

How can I stop my CPAP machine from receiving the audio sound?

[Nightynite]

That’s pretty bazaar, never heard of such a thing. Maybe your hose is touching the wall behind your bed and the vibrations from the TV are vibrating down the wall to your hose and then to your head.

Are you using a bare hose? Plastic touching the wall ? If so a cpap hose cover will put an end to that.


Or maybe something like this from Amazon.

Briidea Dirty Electricity Filters Reduce High-Frequency Noise Caused by Electronic Devices, Provides a Stable and Clean Power Supply for You, Extend the Lifespan of Electric Device,

[RSki]

Wow!  Thanks for the quick reply.  OK   The hose/tube does not touch the wall, but it does touch the side of the mattress.  I tried wrapping it in foam and tried hanging it with string to keep it away.  No Luck.  I will try a purchased hose cover.  I was told that felt sometimes insulates noise.  I will try to find some felt and try that.  I did move the bed posts away from the wall and added a pad between the post and the wall baseboard.

I tried disconnecting the machine modem and no luck.  I put the machine on the carped floor.  No luck.  I have it sitting on natural rubber pads.  No luck.  I tried the machine in another room.  It was not as loud but still there.

I'll keep trying and experimenting and WHEN I sucked, I will post my findings.

[Nightynite]

If your machine has a modem it pretty easy to remove it according to the link below. You ruled out the wall vibration theory so the only other one I can think of is some freakish frequency thing with the modem. If you don’t have a modem then this obviously doesn't apply.

Just remove it for a test is what I would do.


https://www.philips.com/c-dam/b2bhc/mast...ctions.pdf

Edit : sorry, I just re read your post and saw you already messed with the modem.

[RSki]

Modem Removal:  

No problem with the quick reply.  Thank you for the suggestion.  I did try it without the modem attached.  I hastily did a check to see if it would work.  Since you offered this as a suggestion, I will try it again and carefully monitor the results.

AS I mentioned before, I will keep trying and am open to other suggestions.

[Aeolian harp]

Are you sure that your neighbor has turned on his TV?

Here's why I am asking: a lot of people will "hallucinate" sounds when listening to random but constant noises like fan noises. I'm one of them. Most of the time when a fan is running I hear just the fan. But sometimes I could swear that I am hearing faint music or talking from a radio/TV. When I turn the fan off, no music or talking is going on. It's annoying when it happens, although I can usually ignore it enough to get to sleep. And it is totally unpredictable as to when it will happen. I'll add that this phenomenon just started happening to me over the past few years. Most of my life, a fan just sounded like a fan.

Now, if you can actually make out the words you're hearing or the sound is much louder than the CPAP noise, you are definitely hearing his TV somehow, and I don't have a clue as to how you would fix that.

[Nightynite]

If you do a google search ( cpap machine playing music) this has happen to others.

I think the machine is probably faulty and I would try to exchange it for another new one.
You don’t need to be fighting this especially if you’re new to cpap.

[StratCat48]

A WAG (wild ass guess)..............

Hyperacusis - a disorder in loudness perception.
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/hyperacusis

Possibly related to the pressure of the CPAP (kinda like the ear pressure you might feel in a plane as it gains altitude). Perhaps the CPAP pressure alters something in the inner ear that makes the hearing more sensitive(?)

There does seem to be a connection between sleep disorders and hyperacusis......
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23571298/

Try putting a ticking clock (or similar) that you may not normally hear near the bed and see if the ticking is more pronounced when using the CPAP


This would be a good one to throw by an ear, nose, throat specialist.

The opinions and thoughts expressed in this post are purely conjecture to the point of bordering on fictional and not to be considered medical advice by any stretch .

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

Interesting problem…

A few things come to mind, some more probable than others.

The first thing is a possible problem with the electrical wiring whereby you are getting feedback noise from the telly in the adjoining apartment/condo sent through the power line or ground from his devices. It could be reaching your CPAP machine, but I cannot imagine how it would be amplified through the CPAP circuitry. Still, I have seen this happen in the lab with the signal from an adjoining telly being picked up by other devices on the same electrical circuit. This is a big problem for cable television systems and has required significant work by the companies to deal with it.

The second could be the hose itself is picking up the vibrations and amplifying it using the moving air. Again, I have seen it in the lab, but never experienced it myself.

The third would involve aluminium foil hats and fillings in your teeth. I could have made that one up. But one never knows…

I do not think you are imagining things. In fact, I reckon it is a possibility based on my experiences wiring up condos and apartments. Older buildings may have wiring that were code when it was made, but years later the techniques they used are very out of date with current practices. Pun intended.

[RSki]

Thanks for the WAG

WAGS are Good, especially when one is open to any suggestions to help and find a solution to a problem.

I now have a list of things to try.  My focus is on the tubing that I use.  I have noticed that when I hold the tubing in my had, I can feel vibrations and a slight pulsing feeling.  I also just read in a "Possibly Related Threads…" posting and it suggest using a different diameter tubing size.

Again, Thanks for your comments