05-24-2023, 07:32 PM
Need help with ear fullness and need help with settings
Hi! I am a CPAP user of over one week. I am using a self-procured Autoset 10 without medical supervision because the relevant healthcare wait times are long where I live. I am hopeful that I can for now receive some guidance from the good people on this forum. To this end I will present diagnostic information in this post.
My concerns when writing this post are two-fold:
Sleep study journal 19 april 2023:
Good quality for EEG and respiration.
Patient goes to bed at 22.20 and rises at 6.
Sleep latency 21 minutes.
Total sleep time 6h 15m.
Sleep effectiveness 88,9 %.
Wake after sleep onset, 26 minutes.
Sleep stage division:
Superficial sleep (N1) 2 %
Mid-depth sleep(N2) 46 %
Deep sleep (N3) 35 %
REM-sleep 17 %.
Respiration:
AHI 9,6
ODI 5,3
Mean saturation 95 % and lowest saturation 88 %
AHI (sleeping on his back): 23. Sleeping on his back he gets long apneas, 20-30 seconds, and some are central apneas.
AHI (not sleeping on his back): 3,9
PLM-index 9,9
--N.B. apneaboard reader: additional information pertaining to this sleep study, in the form of graphical representations and additional in-depth statistics, is available upon request --
- Masenko
Doctor's diagnosis (translated):
The patient has signs of mild sleep apnea, but gets long-lasting central/mixed apneas when sleeping on his back. He usually sleeps on his side, but may have a tendency to shift to sleeping on his back during sleep. The question is whether or not his apneas contribute to the daytime tiredness he experiences. The tiredness may be multifactorial. Considering the nature of his apnea I nonetheless want him to try CPAP treatment. Other than the apnea his sleep is good. He's young and not overweight, with tonsils of normal size.
Thank you apneaboard.com!
My concerns when writing this post are two-fold:
- I would appreciate help in adjusting the settings of my CPAP machine to suit my personal needs, whatever they may be.
- I have yet to sleep a full night with the device because I wake up at night, every night, and take the mask off. I think the biggest reason for my choosing to take the mask off after waking up is because of an unpleasant phenomenon I experience where the CPAP machine causes my ears to feel full, as if on an airplane. This effect is barely noticeable on pressure level 4, but the higher the level the more noticeable and off-putting it is. I have seen these symptoms discussed in a worrying light on another forum with reference being made to a study that apparently touts CPAP pressure as potentially harmful to the ears: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4896658/ . Is there anything I can do about this ear fullness I experience? Is it harmful?
- Below you will find medical journaling that came out of my lab sleep study. This sleep study served as the basis for a doctor diagnosing me with sleep apnea and advising me to try CPAP treatment. I have translated the information from my mother tongue. Additional information pertaining to my sleep study, in the form of graphical representations and additional in-depth statistics, is available upon request.
- Attached at the end of this post you will find 3 sets of OSCAR data from my CPAP treatment so far.
Sleep study journal 19 april 2023:
Good quality for EEG and respiration.
Patient goes to bed at 22.20 and rises at 6.
Sleep latency 21 minutes.
Total sleep time 6h 15m.
Sleep effectiveness 88,9 %.
Wake after sleep onset, 26 minutes.
Sleep stage division:
Superficial sleep (N1) 2 %
Mid-depth sleep(N2) 46 %
Deep sleep (N3) 35 %
REM-sleep 17 %.
Respiration:
AHI 9,6
ODI 5,3
Mean saturation 95 % and lowest saturation 88 %
AHI (sleeping on his back): 23. Sleeping on his back he gets long apneas, 20-30 seconds, and some are central apneas.
AHI (not sleeping on his back): 3,9
PLM-index 9,9
--N.B. apneaboard reader: additional information pertaining to this sleep study, in the form of graphical representations and additional in-depth statistics, is available upon request --
- Masenko
Doctor's diagnosis (translated):
The patient has signs of mild sleep apnea, but gets long-lasting central/mixed apneas when sleeping on his back. He usually sleeps on his side, but may have a tendency to shift to sleeping on his back during sleep. The question is whether or not his apneas contribute to the daytime tiredness he experiences. The tiredness may be multifactorial. Considering the nature of his apnea I nonetheless want him to try CPAP treatment. Other than the apnea his sleep is good. He's young and not overweight, with tonsils of normal size.
Thank you apneaboard.com!
