What units are the Snore Volume numbers in OSCAR?

[verysincere]

I've consulted various sources (including the Wiki) and still don't know how to interpret the numbers on the Y-axis of the Snore graph in OSCAR.  Some sources mention "pressure waves" but never provide quantifications or qualifications.

The mouse-over annotations are similarly unhelpful.

[pholynyk]

In the ResMed PLD edf files, the Snore signal ranges from 0 to 5 and has no units associated, so it is dimensionless.

I'm not sure how they arrive at their values.

[verysincere]

In the ResMed PLD edf files, the Snore signal ranges from 0 to 5 and has no units associated, so it is dimensionless.  

Interesting.  The sensor would be producing signals varying by voltage.  Pressure waves are usually measured in Pascals but when interpretable as sound waves, one would expect decibels. Either way, I would think that it would be a logarithmic scale. Perhaps by leaving it "dimensionless", they avoided having to explaining that complexity in their documentation.

I overrode the auto-scaling on my Y-axis (as decimal fractions well below 1.00) so that I could see the very low levels of "snores" more easily.  So apparently I just don't snore much despite serious apnea.

[HiTechHiTouch]

How would you rate the Resmed snore numbers?  Do they represent Frequency?  Duration?  Sound volume?


My numbers are occasional episodes, under 1, mostly under .75.  My spouse says I mostly "softly purr, like a cat".

My graph tics may occur in groups, each maybe a minute apart.  Groups cluster every 20 or 30 minutes.

So is this a "mild" case of snoring, low volume, generally not disturbing to a sleeping partner?

What numbers (0-5) represent a significant disturbance, either to the sleeper or to others?

Maybe we need some sort of survey to translate the Resmed numbers to real world?

Or maybe I need to get a sound recorder or video to match against the times.

[NelsonM]

Just came across this old post on a Google search. There's a good explanation on the OSCAR wiki. The details depend on a machine. For a ResMed 9 (and presumably 10) it's based on measuring flow rate. There is no microphone. 1.5 is "medium" and 3.0 is "loud".