Posted by Octavian on January 17, 2003 at 13:00:36:

In Reply to: head gear hurts ears posted by Maggie on January 17, 2003 at 06:42:27:

Dear Maggie,

No ! : You are never alone with a CPAP problem, when you are a sleep net forum member.

Some times I think that God blessed me, by letting me have every little nagging problem that can occur with CPAP use, so that I could find a solution.

Here is how you immediately solve your problem.

Go to your favorite store, and get a soft 20 inch or so long, pair of soft, flat, wide preferably, cotton shoe strings.

Then tonight put your head gear on normally.

Then take one end of one of your shoe strings and run it from top to bottom UNDER your left* side strap.(one of the straps that keeps ridding up during the night)

Then continue with the same end of your shoe-string, and run it under your jaw.

Then continue with the same end of your shoe-string and run it from the bottom to top under your annoying right sided strap.

Next see that there is approximately the same amount of free shoe string on either side of your side straps.

Then LOOSELY tie a standard BOW shoe knot, with the free ends of your shoe string that are coming out of the tops of each side of your straps, and tie your knot under your chin/jaw.

(There is no need for the string to be tight and also the shoe-string it is more comfortable if it is a little loose)

What you will find out tomorrow is that your straps did try to ride up, as usual, during the night, but that they were only able to go as far as your shoe string would let them, which will be far from touching your ears.

When I started using CPAP, 8 years ago, I had to do this shoe string maneuver every night to prevent the problem that you describe.. Then after a year or so I made friends with a CPAP researcher, at a major respiratory medical therapy corporation.

He explained to me that my problem with this topic, and several others, was caused by the fact that my personal respiratory technician was an absolute idiot. And that my technician didn’t poop about CPAP fitting...ET ALL.

(Which I am afraid is not all that uncommon in typical technicians. THANK GOD FOR SLEEP NET, I really, really mean that)

My researcher friend explained that my head was not the size of normal human beings, and that I should be put into a significantly bigger soft cap.

And as soon as I got my big soft cap, the ridding up problem stopped.

The reason that I am thinking of this is because my wife Honey and I just got back from a snorkeling trip in Hawaii. ( Yes Kona is wonderful for snorkeling)

Well, Honey asked one day if she could use my mask. And I let her. And to my surprise, my mask fit perfectly with out needing to decrease the strap size.

Now the reason was that even though “The Honey” was not born with an abnormally large head, like I was. She was born with this beautiful Honey blond hair (That is why when she was a child every one started calling her “The Honey“)

And all of her wadded up hair caused her snorkel mask circumference be the same as mine.

Why, Why! Octavian have you bored us with this story. Well the reason is that the extra hair that you might have, might mean that a little larger soft cap might keep your straps from ridding up. As occurred in my case.( I jumped to the presumption that since your pen name is Maggie that you probably are a woman. And consequently might have more hair.)

Sleep tight and God bless,

Octavian

* The reason that I was so specific in my instructions, is because it can be hard to visualize 3 dimensional concepts, from a narrative description.

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