Dreamwear Gel Pillow - exhaust slot noise

[BoyrauchS]

I have been using the Dreamwear mask with the nasal cushions for several months.  I turn a lot in my sleep and like the top-of-the-head design.  However, I do routinely lose the seal on the cushion and have to readjust it several times during the night.  

I just got the Dreamwear gel pillows in hopes that this might reduce that problem.  The medium pillows fit great, but they are extremely noisy. The air flowing through the pillow's exhaust slot, especially when I inhale, is so loud neither my partner nor I could get to sleep and I had to switch back to the cushion.  I tried switching to the Small pillow and the noise seemed to go away, but it was too small to wear comfortably.  I found if I plug the exhaust, the sound goes away, but that doesn't seem practical even though there is another exhaust slot at the top of the mask.  I'm not sure if I got a bad gel pillow, or if there is a trick to make it quieter.  Have others had this same problem? 

Thanks!

[trish6hundred]

Hi BoyrauchS,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for answers to your question, good luck with CPAP therapy.

[holden4th]

I am just about to find out if this is a problem. I've got the small pillow and like you it is a bit too small for me. My medium should arrive in the next few days and I'll report back. What I do like is the way that the pillow has brought down my AHI and especially my RERAS. Not sure why this should be but am grateful.

[Whacked]

Interesting.
I didn't experience any noise difference between pillow or cushion.
It does seem a bit noisy, mostly because the air is flowing thru the silicone tubes near your ears/temples.
Has not interfered with my ability to sleep or fall asleep.

I do wish they would diffuse the exhaust ports.

[BoyrauchS]

I don't notice the sound of air through the tubes; maybe it has to do with the shape of my head or something.  I only hear the wheezing sound through the exhaust port.  I used a sound meter app on my phone to do an unscientific measurement of the difference between the various pillows.  The nasal cushion by far was the quietest, followed by the small gel pillow, then the large, and finally the medium.  The difference was significant.  As I said this was not a controlled experiment, but let me know I wasn't just imagining it.  Your results may vary...

[incorgnito]

I have the exact same problem.  The noise is coming from the exhaust slot on the nasal cushion.  When I cover it up with my finger, it goes away.  Im experimenting with enlarging it to see if I can make it go away.

[zakarados]

The air flowing through the pillow's exhaust slot, especially when I inhale, is so loud neither my partner nor I could get to sleep and I had to switch back to the cushion.  I tried switching to the Small pillow and the noise seemed to go away, but it was too small to wear comfortably.  I found if I plug the exhaust, the sound goes away, but that doesn't seem practical even though there is another exhaust slot at the top of the mask.  I'm not sure if I got a bad gel pillow, or if there is a trick to make it quieter.  Have others had this same problem? 

I am having the exact same issue. I just bought this Mask last week.
Did you end up finding a fix? The same issue happens when I use small and medium, but small is the best fit for me.

[ericcarden72]

I have the same issue. I'm new to PAP therapy (one month into therapy) and have been using a DreamWear full mask till last night. I'm a side-sleeper, and I was having to spend too much time adjusting the full mask each time I rolled over - to get it in a no-leak position. I sleep with my eyes partially open (always have), so any leak that blows air toward my eyes causes enough eye irritation to wake me up and make it difficult to fall asleep again. So after some research and a recommendation from an acquaintance, I decided to try nasal pillows. So yesterday my DreamWear gel pillows arrived, and I tried them last night. They stayed in place well when I rolled back and forth, and they seemed to not leak. But the loud rattling, crackling, popping sound through the front slit/vent was intolerable. I stayed calm and "rode it out" all night (stayed in bed 10 hours but still didn't get a decent amount of actual sleep) - trying to just ignore it - but it was a really bad night's sleep. I tried all three pillows sizes (I bought the fit pack), two DreamWear frame sizes (I have both small and medium), varying humidity settings, varying sleep positions, and a range of machine "Mask Type" settings (mostly using the recommended "x2" setting) - all to no avail. For a long time, I wasn't sure from where the noise was coming, but I eventually figured it out - by blocking the front vent with my finger. With no air flowing through this vent, it was beautifully quiet (just the hum of the machine and the "wind" through the frame). With the vent open/uncovered, though, there was a loud rattling noise any time I was inhaling or exhaling. (If I held my breath, the noise was gone.) I guess I should have done a bit more research before I dropped $$ on these nasal pillows. Dr. Google has exposed several users complaining about this loud crackling noise at the front vent with the DreamWear gel pillows, so I guess I'll be looking for a better option. If anyone has found a way to make this noise go away (without permanently covering this vent, which I'd guess is a bad idea for CO2 rebreathing reasons - or other reasons I haven't considered), my wallet and I would love to hear it! Or if you've switched to a better, quieter nasal pillow option, I'd love to hear that, too. Thanks.

Eric

P.S. - Overall, I'm very happy to be on PAP therapy. Even though my sleep study showed a very mild AHI of 5.2, I've been feeling much better during the day than before starting therapy. Today (after last night's BAD sleep) is a reminder of how I felt almost every day the month or two leading up to starting therapy. :-)

[SleepyVan]

Did anyone solve this? I have my dreamwear but the vent is extremely loud

[Damiansd]

Hey Sleepyvan,

Mine is noisy but bearable. I've gotten used to it I guess. Super comfortable. 

I had a problem with it whistling. I cut a minute slit in the nose vent to make the whistling stop. 

Good luck,
Damian.