My CPAP does the first two. But generally if you get event the tiniest leak (and it's hard to stop all the leaks) it's very noisy for my partner. My masks leaks so little that I have between 0 and 1 events per hour but it's still annoyingly loud so my partner usually sleeps in our guest bedroom. If I could take a pill instead I would do so gladly. That being said my CPAP machine typically reduces events by 98% or so, so 56% just isn't going to cut it.

Luckily my partner likes to sleep with a large fan; the noise of the CPAP blends well with that. But you're right about the leak noise -- about once a month I do get swatted in the middle of the night to adjust my mask.

There are cheap white noise machines that can cover the CPAP noise, without producing wind.

Took me 1-2 nights to be used to it when I tried it.

I can't agree more!

I was always tired. Falling asleep was a chore. Waking up was worse.

I pushed back against the sleep study for so long because I feared the mask. The sleep study was the best night of sleep I could ever remember.

Nasal Pillow CPAP, even with the little extra burden when travelling, has changed my life for the better - full stop.

> letting my partner have a proper night's sleep

I’m interested in this: how’s the CPAP noise perceived by the partners?

I don’t snore and usually wake up quickly when doing the "apnea noise", stopping before waking her up. In the meantime I read that CPAP produce a a constant sound + an inconstant sound from the air coming in and out. She needs quietness to sleep and disturbing her sleep refrained me to try it out. Non trivial price is also a factor through, otherwise I would have tried it since a long time.

A new Resmed machine is inaudible to my ears. But after 1-2 years, all 3 of mine has developed some kind of noise.

I recently found an online service that repaired one of mine, and it's quiet now.

There is also mask noise. If my nostril mask slips out a bit, there will be noise. Not too big a deal.

One fix that I think would work for most people is a white noise machine. It's briefly annoying, but after a while (a few nights at most is my personal guess) you stop noticing it, and it drowns out other noise.

> A new Resmed machine is inaudible to my ears. But after 1-2 years, all 3 of mine has developed some kind of noise.

This is my experience, I've tried swapping out tubes, the water container, but the noise is just unbearable and I can't even fall asleep while wearing it.

This place silenced and returned mine within a week: https://cpap-repair.com/

Nice, and I can use HSA funds for the repair..so that's a plus..

Godspeed!

Different ones have different sound profiles. Even the quietest isn’t my favorite so I use a https://getsnooz.com which are pricey but easily the best white noise machines I’ve used. The noise machine even on very quiet is enough to mask the inconsistent breathing sound. That’d be my best advice on it.

I have one of these, I believe I got the first batch from Kickstarter when they first came out. It's still working flawlessly on my nightstand. It's not just a digital white noise maker, that's why I really like it. Authentic sound.

Unless there’s a leak (and there shouldn’t be) CPAPs are much quieter than you think they are. The only time I even notice mine (Resmed with P10 nasal pillows) is when using it from a battery during a power outage when everything is dead quiet. If you have any kind of background noise (fan hum, AC, air purifier, living near a freeway) you probably won’t even notice it.

My wife has been on a CPAP since before we got married almost twelve years ago. It’s extremely quiet—I can’t usually hear it at all.

My partners prefer it to my not-breathing for 30 seconds or more, then gasping for air.

My partner has never heard any “cpap noise”. I just asked.