[How to] How to achieve the perfect mask fit - GUARANTEED!

[I_will_never_sleep_again]

I too wish I had read this 6 weeks ago. My mask straps are so tight I can play dueling banjos on them.
I will try this tonight and hope it works for me.
I have 4 masks now, none of them work right.
Operator error it sounds like.
I will give all 4 another chance.

[I_will_never_sleep_again]

Tried this last night with one mask, no luck. The only way to keep it from leaking was to over tighten it.
I ordered a new mask seal thinking that maybe I have ruined mine by over tightening it for the last month.
Then I'll give it another try.

[49er]

Strategy seems to work well with the Elan cloth mask I am currently using. Of course, the proof will be when I try the strategy before going to bed tonight.

I am also expecting a Simplus mask to arrive today or tomorrow to so it will be interesting to see how this strategy works. Concerned it leaked way too easily during the fitting but I decided the comfort was too good to pass up since I have a 30 day return policy.

Just tried strategy to see if this would work with the Hans Rudolph Mask and it was no dice. Same for mirage quattro although I think that might not have worked due to it being old.

I am guessing this strategy will be useful for some masks but obviously if a mask is a poor match to begin with, even a positive attitude isn't going to prevent leaks.

[PaytonA]

What Jeffy says is a really good approach. What he and some others seem not to realize is that some of us with higher pressures or difficult facial features to seal, can require fairly high head gear tension in order to minimize leaks. full face masks, for instance, require more restraining force from the headgear than the smaller nasal masks because, at the same pressure setting, there is more force pushing the mask away from your face.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[Gyddyup]

(think) i had some success with my Simplus ffm last night - was able to back the tightness right off and had a leak rate of zero, with pressure at 14.8 for 95% of the time!

downside was my AHI was my worst ever at 13.79

anyway will need a few more nights data to get a clearer picture of what's going on.

[wxmcpo]

So I tried this method last night and overall I would say I am very happy with the results after one night. I felt I was sleeping good, but felt I was having some leakage. Around 3 AM I got up to use the restroom and upon getting back in bed and noticing the leakage again, I tightened the mask (tightened only the bottom straps) slightly. Upon reviewing my sleepy head data this morning my suspicions were confirmed. I had major leakage (12.47% of time above leak rate threshold for the night) for several periods including periods of 9, 10 and 13 minutes until 2:55 AM. Once I tightened the mask however I had zero leaks for the remainder of the night and I slept until about 7:40 AM, which if you knew me you'd know that is considered sleeping in for me. This is only one night, but my AHI was 4.68, which is also considered really good for me since sleepyhead stats show for the last week show my AHI to be 6.74 and 10.29 over the last 30 days. Also once I tightened the mask my AHI was actually 4 or below for 4.5 hours except for one 55 min period where it was between 5 and 6. I will leave the mask set where it is for tonight and see if I achieve the same results.

[I_will_never_sleep_again]

When I first go to bed and put mask on it fits and seals easy with minimal pressure, but as the night goes on it leaks worse and worse. I wind up with it very tight just to keep a seal.
I don't know if it's the humidity or heat from my body.

[AlanE]

I get that sometimes. Seems to happens more frequently when the pillows are old. Maybe coincidence.

[PaytonA]

My take on this has been that the tissues in my face relax with sleep and the pressure of the mask tends to push things around in my facial tissues ending up in the morning with the mask looser than it was at bedtime because it is more deeply "imbedded" in my face.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

[RonP]

I've been trying a Quattro FX FFM for about a week now. I kept having leaks high on my cheeks near the bridge of my nose. These woke me up several times a night. I tried the suggestion here about making sure the straps were equal lengths. They were up to two centimeters different (for you Canadians out there) from one side to the other. I carefully adjusted them all to match the same length on each side without changing the overall length. I had some leaks last night but they didn't wake me up at all. Jury is still out so we'll see over the next few nights.



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Ron