Sound in ear when lying on side

[SurreyHills1234]

All,

I was diagnosed with mild OSA a year ago. My AHI was only 5.4, but nonetheless, I was offered a CPAP machine. After a year of being on the fence, I decided to give it a go after I woke up gasping a couple of times.

Now I've been using my machine for about 3 or 4 months with moderate success. I feel considerably less tired, and typically use it for at least 4-6 hours per night. My AHI is usually around 1.0 according to Oscar. I actually think my original score was worse than 5.4 since I slept very badly the night of the test so probably didn't enter REM sleep much.

Anyway, the problem I have now is I get a strange 'rushing' in my ear when asleep on my side and using the machine in this position. It sounds like wind outside. Once I open my mouth, the sound stops, so it's obviously a pressure thing. (I'm using a nasal mask.) There is no pain or discomfort of any kind, just the sound. This doesn't happen when sleeping on my back.

I would like to be able to sleep on my side, since I tend to shift from one to the other about half way through the night. So sometimes I take the mask off, which obviously I want to avoid.

I spoke to a couple of clinicians about it. The first, the sleep specialist NP who prescribed me the machine, said I should try at a lower pressure to see if it goes away, and if not, talk to an ENT. It hasn't gone away (I went down from a max of 12.0). The second, my PCP (a very good doctor), took a look at my Eustachian tubes, found no tear, but suggested that there may be a microscopic tear in there that was letting air out. He said the sound was nothing to worry about if it wasn't bothering me. He said fixing the tear, if there was one, could cause more problems than it solved, since it would prevent the venting that is currently happening. He said he had one CPAP-using patient that had tubes put in their ears to help equalize pressure.

I was wondering if anyone on this board has experienced this problem, and if so what they did about it.

Thanks!

[EddyDee]

What exact model of mask are you using?
What if you put your fingers in your ears?
What if you pull the mask slightly off your nose?
Note that reducing max pressure is very unlikely to change anything, when your doctor said reduce the pressure he was referring to min pressure.

Anyway, it would be good to post your OSCAR charts here and let the experts opine.

[SurreyHills1234]

Thanks for the response. I'll make a note of the time it happens tonight, and post OSCAR data for that time.

I've updated my mask info. Also, the prescribing NP definitely wanted the maximum pressure lowered, not the minimum pressure (because she lowered it herself, remotely).

[PaulaO2]

Where is your hose when you are sleeping on your side? If mine is too close to my head or even slightly under my pillow, I hear the air.

[Gideon]

I don't know, but with that mask by sleeping on your side you are placing the hard structure of the mask tighter to your face possibly resulting in a bone conduction of the sound of the flow thru the mask.

[SurreyHills1234]

I made a note of the time it happened. It was at appx 12:46am, 2:21am and 3:56am.

I've posted a general OSCAR view of the night containing those three times, and then a detailed view of the 12:46am incident. I can see some obvious trends for all three times, but I don't have enough experience to seriously comment. I suspect I may be picking up external noise. But it's strange that it stops when I open my mouth.

Also, whenever I wake up, I find myself with a very dry mouth. I know that's a separate problem but it may have a bearing on this one.