[Diagnosis] Help with Snoring

[Sleepster]

For the last few weeks my partner has been complaining that I snore. It's not a lot of snoring, just occasionally and briefly, but before that complaints of any noise were few and far between. Does anybody see anything in my data that would suggest some changes I might make. Lately the seasonal allergens have been high, so that might be it.[attachment=55738][attachment=55738][attachment=55739]        

[CPAPfriend]

Have you considered increasing PS?

Alternatively, and I realize this isn't what you asked, but if it's just the audible noise that's the complaint and not your disrupted sleep, you could try ear plugs and / or a white noise machine. There are some pretty great ear plugs, customizable ones, out there.

You could try using OTC nasal steroids during allergy season, netti pot, etc. I'm sure you're already aware of all this by now, so bear with me. Your data looks near immaculate. There are a few spikes in leak.

[Sleepster]

Have you considered increasing PS?

Yes, but why would that help with snoring? (In the past raising the PS caused my CA index to rise, but it's been quite awhile so I suppose I could try it if there's a valid reason to do so.)

Alternatively, and I realize this isn't what you asked, but if it's just the audible noise that's the complaint and not your disrupted sleep, you could try ear plugs and / or a white noise machine. There are some pretty great ear plugs, customizable ones, out there.

She won't wear them. We have an air filter that makes white noise.

You could try using OTC nasal steroids during allergy season, netti pot, etc.

I do all that. I suppose I could add a nasal flush to my pre-bedtime routine. That's actually a good idea. I use the NeilMed Sinus Rinse Kit.

Your data looks near immaculate.

It took a lot of tweaking and a lot of adaptation time to get there.

There are a few spikes in leak.

Those are due to me shifting my sleeping position, I think. There are times when the leaks are worse and my partner reports a squeaking noise. That's easily fixed by shifting the mask. When she reports that I was making a noise during the night I always double-check to make sure that it's either squeaking or snoring. If the squeaking is excessive it's time for a new mask cushion or in extreme cases a new mask.

[Sleepster]

Here's last night's data. Only two sessions with a long break in between. My partner reported that soon after the start of the second session I was snoring, and the data confirms it.
   

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

You have done a bang-up job of finding your sweet spot. I would not recommend making any changes to your therapy.

You are already doing things I would suggest e.g. nasal sprays and the white noise in particular. You could also consider a standalone noise generator (about $20 on Amazon) that can do white, brown, pink, etc, sounds as it is more versatile.

As CPAPFriend suggested, a distilled water saline nasal rinse may or may not help. No harm in trying. A trip to the ENT may shed some light as well.

[Crimson Nape]

Have any of the following occurred recently?
- Sleeping on your back, or close to it, during this snore episode.
- Experienced a weight gain.
- Medication additions or modifications. This would include any OTC's and/or supplements.


- Red

[Sleepster]

As CPAPFriend suggested, a distilled water saline nasal rinse may or may not help. No harm in trying. A trip to the ENT may shed some light as well.

Been to may ENT's. The saline rinse before bedtime is a good idea.

[Sleepster]

Have any of the following occurred recently?
- Sleeping on your back, or close to it, during this snore episode.

She reports that I was sleeping on my back last night when I was snoring but on other occasions it happened while sleeping on my side.

Experienced a weight gain.

No, but I am overweight. I need to lose about 8 lb to get my BMI down from obese to overweight.

Medication additions or modifications.  This would include any OTC's and/or supplements.

No recent changes but you make a good point. There was an increase in my my prescribed klonopin use a couple of years ago and that's about when the snoring complaints started, IIRC, which is not entirely reliable. I am in the process of reducing the dosage so that may be a fix. Thanks, Red, that was a good catch!

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

I’ve been using nasal rinses for quite a while. Apologies if this is somewhat stating the bloody obvious…

If you have not done it before some advise is to only use distilled water for cleaning the Neti Pot and for rinsing. Also, microwave the Neti Pot before use (let cool before using of course) to kill off any bacteria. I’m likely too careful, but one can never be too careful with these things.

I buy the saline packets in bulk from Amazon. NeilMed and SinuCleanse packets work well for me. I also use a ceramic Neti Pot instead of plastic. I figure it can be kept cleaner and is okay to microwave without leeching toxins into the solution. May be my imagination, but it works for me.

[Sleepster]

Last two nights I did the NeilMed sinus rinse just before bedtime. I felt like I could breathe a little better during the night, no complaints from spouse about snoring, and nothing on the snore chart. Just for the heck of it, though, I'm raising my minEPAP from 5.2 to 5.4 and my PS from 4.4 to 4.6 for tonight. First therapy change I've made in many years.