12-14-2023, 11:35 PM
Tubing Mod to Reduce Resmed Airmini + Zephair adapter Inhalation Noise
Hi All,
First post but I used a lot of the info on here to figure out how to use the zephair adapter (and a phillips mask) and not have the Darth Vader breathing noise. So I thought it was worth sharing my hack.
Backstory: Been a longtime dreamstation go user. So when the time came to recall it, I ended up with a new resmed airmini + zephair adapter + philips dreamwear nasal pillow mask (similar to the resmed p30).
After using it for 2 nights I realized my sleep was suffering due to how much noise was being produced. I listened to all the machine and realized it was fairly quiet..the sound was coming from the tubing. Specifically during inhalation. After reading through a lot of threads on this board, I saw the inhalation noise issue was also tied to people using a 15mm adapter like the zephair. I also saw somebody mention switching back to the native airmini tubing and masks helped. That pretty much led me to the theory the larger tubing with the airmini was causing the issue.
So my fix was to try to use smaller 12 mm tubing on the airmini. Luckily, I still had my smaller dreamstation go tubing. Just holding the end on the airmini I noticed right away the sound dropped. The trick was to just figure out a way to adapt the tubing to my mask and airmini. The mask wasn't a problem since the tubing came with a 15 mm adapter. Attaching the dreamstation go connection to the zephair was just cutting off a normal 15mm tube end and taping it to the dreamstation connection. This worked really well since the dreamstation connection fit inside the normal 15 mm end piece. Then it was just taping it together with medical tape.
Positives: The smaller tubing also has the advantage of being more supple than normal tubing..which is perfect for travel. With some testing on a sound meter, my inhalation went from the high 40's decibels down to the 37 decibel range. Which made my exhale the highest sound. This is consistent with my dreamstation 2 fullsize unit. I would say it's not quite as quiet as the full size unit but it's now a reasonable level.
Negatives: This is really for people who want to use non native masks without humidification. If you use a native mask, like the p10, this probably isn't worth it. I was lucky to have the tubing already and old 15mm tubing that I could cut for pieces. If you don't you will have to factor in the cost of both types of tubing (or at least risk your current 15mm tubing).
Anyways I hope this is helpful with anybody else who thinks the airmini is too loud using the zephair adapter. I may make a video and post it later on how I adapted the tubing.
First post but I used a lot of the info on here to figure out how to use the zephair adapter (and a phillips mask) and not have the Darth Vader breathing noise. So I thought it was worth sharing my hack.
Backstory: Been a longtime dreamstation go user. So when the time came to recall it, I ended up with a new resmed airmini + zephair adapter + philips dreamwear nasal pillow mask (similar to the resmed p30).
After using it for 2 nights I realized my sleep was suffering due to how much noise was being produced. I listened to all the machine and realized it was fairly quiet..the sound was coming from the tubing. Specifically during inhalation. After reading through a lot of threads on this board, I saw the inhalation noise issue was also tied to people using a 15mm adapter like the zephair. I also saw somebody mention switching back to the native airmini tubing and masks helped. That pretty much led me to the theory the larger tubing with the airmini was causing the issue.
So my fix was to try to use smaller 12 mm tubing on the airmini. Luckily, I still had my smaller dreamstation go tubing. Just holding the end on the airmini I noticed right away the sound dropped. The trick was to just figure out a way to adapt the tubing to my mask and airmini. The mask wasn't a problem since the tubing came with a 15 mm adapter. Attaching the dreamstation go connection to the zephair was just cutting off a normal 15mm tube end and taping it to the dreamstation connection. This worked really well since the dreamstation connection fit inside the normal 15 mm end piece. Then it was just taping it together with medical tape.
Positives: The smaller tubing also has the advantage of being more supple than normal tubing..which is perfect for travel. With some testing on a sound meter, my inhalation went from the high 40's decibels down to the 37 decibel range. Which made my exhale the highest sound. This is consistent with my dreamstation 2 fullsize unit. I would say it's not quite as quiet as the full size unit but it's now a reasonable level.
Negatives: This is really for people who want to use non native masks without humidification. If you use a native mask, like the p10, this probably isn't worth it. I was lucky to have the tubing already and old 15mm tubing that I could cut for pieces. If you don't you will have to factor in the cost of both types of tubing (or at least risk your current 15mm tubing).
Anyways I hope this is helpful with anybody else who thinks the airmini is too loud using the zephair adapter. I may make a video and post it later on how I adapted the tubing.