Mirage Quattro Mask - Help

[Ranj123]

Dear Forum

Got my CPAP on Friday and been adjusting it over the weekend as shown by the nurse at teh sleep clinic. I am still getting use to it, but it whistles and its not a pretty sound.

I have cleaned out the holes, cleaned the mask, moved the hose, loosened and tightened the mask but still whistles.

Help I need sleep

[James @ Intus]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

Where exactly does it whistle? Is it around the edges where it should be touching your skin or in the swivel port?

[Ranj123]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

Where exactly does it whistle? Is it around the edges where it should be touching your skin or in the swivel port?

Thanks for replying. Not sure what it actually is. It is on inhale not exhale. I have moved all the parts up down, left right. It tends to whistle in the mask it self.

[James @ Intus]

If it was the actual seal, I would have suggested the RemZzzs for Mirage Quattro but if it's inside the mask, I'm not sure that'll make a difference.

Most masks have a valve in the swivel that ensures exhaled CO2 leaves the mask through the vent ports instead of backing up into the hose. That could be the culprit. Is it a brand new mask or could it be a used one?

Another possibility is the hose. If it's not a reasonably new hose, it may be causing air turbulance which causes the whistling.

You may want to ask for a different mask.

[Metal Dad]

Whistling Quattro

Hi,

I use a Mirage Quattro every night and find it a godsend after nasal masks - as I am a mouth breather who often has hay fever and colds bunging up the nose. Unfortunately, my Sleep Centre's response was to suggest I get stronger steroid spray rather than offer the mask so I had to buy it myself - but it works!

On the whistling. When I get serious whistling it is usually one of the following, either a seal breach, usually on the cheekbone near the nose or under the mouth when I roll over in bed, or it is the exhalation stream from the front of the mask hitting bedclothes.

That said, I had a rental machgine while my Resmed Escape II was repaired (I was getting hurricane force air pressure!) and that machine, according to my wife, did whistle all night every night - but fortunately I slept through it.

I hope you stick with it. Several months in I feel years younger, more energetic and my blood pressure has dropped 11 points - all good stuff.

Good luck!

Mike

[scott1976]

Dear Forum

Got my CPAP on Friday and been adjusting it over the weekend as shown by the nurse at teh sleep clinic. I am still getting use to it, but it whistles and its not a pretty sound.

I have cleaned out the holes, cleaned the mask, moved the hose, loosened and tightened the mask but still whistles.

Help I need sleep

I have experienced the same you will find it is the elbow on the front rotate this whilst under presure and you should find a position where it stops good luck

[gvader]

Thanks for replying. Not sure what it actually is. It is on inhale not exhale. I have moved all the parts up down, left right. It tends to whistle in the mask it self.

The problem will be the joint where the elbow fits into the frobt of the mask. Get down to B&Q and get some Plumber's PTFE tape, remove the elbow and put a couple of turns of tape around the part that fits into the mask (making sure to keep it off of the securing clips), stick it back in and make sure that it still rotates freely.

Job done, tape costs about a quid and should be enough to keep you going for a year.

When you are cleaning the mask, just remove the tape and then stick some more on when you are putting the shiny mask back together.

[James @ Intus]

As a slight caution on gvader's otherwise great tip, some masks have the exhalation port in the elbow. If you tape that shut, the exhaled CO2 can't go anywhere. So only 'mess' with the elbow if you can see vent holes elsewhere that allows air in and out.

[gvader]

As a slight caution on gvader's otherwise great tip, some masks have the exhalation port in the elbow. If you tape that shut, the exhaled CO2 can't go anywhere. So only 'mess' with the elbow if you can see vent holes elsewhere that allows air in and out.

Fear not, the exhalation ports on the Quattro are on the bridge of the nose and the tape should only be put round that part of the elbow that clips into the mask.

[Ranj123]

thanks for this everyone, the whistling has stopped with moving the elbow. If it returns I will get some tape to help.

NEW PROBLEM - keeps slipping during the night. Goes down whilst I sleep and then the noise and then I wake up. Any suggestions?

[Simes2112]

One word .... Remzzzs.

They stopped some mask slipping for me - but not entirely on their own.

All the conventional wisdom says that the full face masks should float hovercraft like on your face maintaining the seal during your sleep. This maybe true if you sleep like a cadaver in a coffin, i.e. totally still on your back all night.

Well, I don't I roll from side to side and without the Remzzzs I was whacking the mask off my face several times a night, causing leaks and waking up annoyed and frustrated.

I tried Remzzzs and they made things much more comfortable right away. Much nicer having the smooth, warm, natural feel of the material on my face compared with cold silicon plastic rubber stuff.

I even shelled out £25 to visit one of Resmed's sleep centres to get mask fit advice. It was useful in as much as it confirmed that I wasn't doing much wrong. But it still didn't result in a stable mask fit all of the time. However, the lady I saw did point out that I have a "chutchie" face - i.e fat. No shit Sherlock I thought.

But the fact that my face is some what mobile because of my weight - when I roll on to my side from my back. Then I suppose that my facial fat slides like a jelly on a plate being tipped over and that will be like some kind of tidal wave for the mask.

So in the end, I decided that I had to find something that worked for me. The result is that I have the mask tight. With a Remzzzs cloth it is comfortable for me. I also wear a skull cap like this and pull it down to my eyebrow line - it has two benefits. It stops the forehead support silicon thing being in contact with my skin and when I roll over in bed the mask headgear slip easily on it back into position if I snag them on the pillow as I roll.

Yes, I wake up with impression lines of the mask on my face - but they disappear within 30 minutes or so. The key is I get good sleep, I am never woken up because of a mask problem now. So I am happy.

Hope this is of some help,

Simon

[Metal Dad]

Slipping Quattro problems

I think a lot depends on the shape of your face. I have a very small nose with no distict bridge and the mask slips down. It also pushes off the side of my face as I roll over.

I know the technology is supposed to mean you wear it as lightly as possible, resting gently on your face but that has never worked for me. To keep it on, stop any leaks and keep it in place - I have to wear it with the straps tightened up top and bottom. Not overly comfortable and took a couple of nights to get used to. That said, the benefits of wearing it are so noticeable, I dread going back to waking up as tired as when I went to bed, so I'll put up with it to get the health improvements!

Good luck and Merry Christmas!

Mike

[Ranj123]

thanks for this everyone, the whistling has stopped with moving the elbow. If it returns I will get some tape to help.

NEW PROBLEM - keeps slipping during the night. Goes down whilst I sleep and then the noise and then I wake up. Any suggestions?

Sent this a while ago and found that the mast was too big!! Sleep clinic finally gave me a smaller mask which works, does not whistle or slip. There is a measurement you can do to see if your mask is the correct one.

Also found a great video on the res med site http://www.resmed.com/us/products/mi...ients&sec=true (last video on the page) which gives you step by step instructions as to how you should put it on and how to split it up so you can clean every bit. Lots of tips as well.