ResMed S9 whistle problem - Solutions?
I am having some problems with my use of a ResMed S9 CPAP(auto) and I wanted to ask for solutions/advice.
My Respironics REMstar Auto M series motor finally went out on me. I went to my local DME and asked for a recommendation for the best CPAP(auto) out there. They said unequivocally that it was the ResMed S9. I took their advice and I ended up buying 2 units for cash since I didn’t have insurance that would cover it. Almost a thousand dollars apiece. And I bought 2 Swift FX nasal pillows as well so I would have 2 setups to use.
Now the reason I bought 2 units was so that I could have one at home and one at the new girlfriend’s house and didn’t want to be lugging one CPAP back and forth all week and not knowing which house I would end up at for the night. Our houses are about 40 minutes apart.
So I have been dating the girlfriend for about 3 months, it has been going phenomenally well, this is a person that I love and I don’t take that lightly, but I have been a little wary about introducing the CPAP into the equation since it is a little awkward and embarrassing but we talked about it and I finally brought the CPAP over to her house. I set it up and we get into bed and I turn it on and she says “what’s that whistle noise?” (Yes, this is the S9 unit that has the annoying whistle noise.) So I try to cover up the CPAP with a towel and lowered it to floor level to attempt to make it quieter. We eventually go to sleep but a couple of times during the night she tells me that the CPAP whistle noise is bothering her every time I exhale.
The next night at her house I start trying to analyze where the whistle is coming from and try taking off the humidifier, moving the CPAP to different locations near the bed, placing various towels and pillows around the machine to muffle the sound and nothing works to make it quiet enough. We even put on a fan to bring some white noise in and that doesn’t mask it enough either. She tells me that she can’t sleep with the CPAP on and the previous night she wasn’t able to sleep as well because of the whistle noise. I end up going home that night since she can’t sleep with the CPAP on and I can’t sleep without using it. Not a happy camper.
So I start looking for solutions because this is affecting my relationship in a big way. I contact my DME where I bought the 2 units and set up an appointment to talk to the manager. I tell her my problem with the noise issue and she says that I would have to take that up with ResMed and there is nothing they can do about it. I only have 6 hours on the one machine but they say that it is considered “used” now and I can’t return it. They said “that is the law” and they can’t be returned if used. Their only option was for me to return the machines for 50% of what I just bought them for since they were used. I argued with them for a good 20 minutes but that is all that they would offer.
So I am looking for advice on what I should do at this point. I am getting really frustrated with this. Here are my options as I see it:
1) Contact ResMed and look to get refunded for the 2 ResMed S9 machines that I can’t use if I want to sleep in the same room as my girlfriend. I don’t know how this process would work or what my chances are of getting my money back for what I consider 2 defective machines that have noise levels WAY over what I consider acceptable. The S9 has a whine on inhale and a whistle on exhale. Completely unacceptable! My girlfriend says it sounds like a cat in heat. My Respironics REMstar Auto M series was significantly quieter.
2) Return both machines at a loss of about a thousand dollars and buy another machine that is supposedly quieter from the same DME who didn’t stand by me.
3) Build some kind of noise deflecting box to use for both my house and my girlfriend's house so that it would be quiet enough to use the S9’s. I don’t know if this would even work.
4) Try to talk my girlfriend into using ear plugs so that she can sleep and we can be in the same room. I hate to do this because I don’t want to affect her sleep in a negative fashion and I don’t want her to not hear her alarm in the morning or feel cutoff from what’s happening around her. I have tried earplugs in the past and they bug me too much to use. Because of the noise level on this machine I have just been using 2 t-shirts to cover each ear.
Does anyone have any advice to help my relationship and make this situation better? I need a solution pronto.
Grant
My Respironics REMstar Auto M series motor finally went out on me. I went to my local DME and asked for a recommendation for the best CPAP(auto) out there. They said unequivocally that it was the ResMed S9. I took their advice and I ended up buying 2 units for cash since I didn’t have insurance that would cover it. Almost a thousand dollars apiece. And I bought 2 Swift FX nasal pillows as well so I would have 2 setups to use.
Now the reason I bought 2 units was so that I could have one at home and one at the new girlfriend’s house and didn’t want to be lugging one CPAP back and forth all week and not knowing which house I would end up at for the night. Our houses are about 40 minutes apart.
So I have been dating the girlfriend for about 3 months, it has been going phenomenally well, this is a person that I love and I don’t take that lightly, but I have been a little wary about introducing the CPAP into the equation since it is a little awkward and embarrassing but we talked about it and I finally brought the CPAP over to her house. I set it up and we get into bed and I turn it on and she says “what’s that whistle noise?” (Yes, this is the S9 unit that has the annoying whistle noise.) So I try to cover up the CPAP with a towel and lowered it to floor level to attempt to make it quieter. We eventually go to sleep but a couple of times during the night she tells me that the CPAP whistle noise is bothering her every time I exhale.
The next night at her house I start trying to analyze where the whistle is coming from and try taking off the humidifier, moving the CPAP to different locations near the bed, placing various towels and pillows around the machine to muffle the sound and nothing works to make it quiet enough. We even put on a fan to bring some white noise in and that doesn’t mask it enough either. She tells me that she can’t sleep with the CPAP on and the previous night she wasn’t able to sleep as well because of the whistle noise. I end up going home that night since she can’t sleep with the CPAP on and I can’t sleep without using it. Not a happy camper.
So I start looking for solutions because this is affecting my relationship in a big way. I contact my DME where I bought the 2 units and set up an appointment to talk to the manager. I tell her my problem with the noise issue and she says that I would have to take that up with ResMed and there is nothing they can do about it. I only have 6 hours on the one machine but they say that it is considered “used” now and I can’t return it. They said “that is the law” and they can’t be returned if used. Their only option was for me to return the machines for 50% of what I just bought them for since they were used. I argued with them for a good 20 minutes but that is all that they would offer.
So I am looking for advice on what I should do at this point. I am getting really frustrated with this. Here are my options as I see it:
1) Contact ResMed and look to get refunded for the 2 ResMed S9 machines that I can’t use if I want to sleep in the same room as my girlfriend. I don’t know how this process would work or what my chances are of getting my money back for what I consider 2 defective machines that have noise levels WAY over what I consider acceptable. The S9 has a whine on inhale and a whistle on exhale. Completely unacceptable! My girlfriend says it sounds like a cat in heat. My Respironics REMstar Auto M series was significantly quieter.
2) Return both machines at a loss of about a thousand dollars and buy another machine that is supposedly quieter from the same DME who didn’t stand by me.
3) Build some kind of noise deflecting box to use for both my house and my girlfriend's house so that it would be quiet enough to use the S9’s. I don’t know if this would even work.
4) Try to talk my girlfriend into using ear plugs so that she can sleep and we can be in the same room. I hate to do this because I don’t want to affect her sleep in a negative fashion and I don’t want her to not hear her alarm in the morning or feel cutoff from what’s happening around her. I have tried earplugs in the past and they bug me too much to use. Because of the noise level on this machine I have just been using 2 t-shirts to cover each ear.
Does anyone have any advice to help my relationship and make this situation better? I need a solution pronto.
Grant
