At Mind Alive, we often receive inquiries about whether a person is able to use Audio-Visual Entrainment (AVE) with their CPAP, so I thought I would address this with a blog post. The answer is unequivocally “YES"! There are several different ways that you can approach using your DAVID device with your CPAP.
I have a CPAP mask that uses one strap with nasal pillows. I put the Omniscreen eyeset on first, followed by the sleep mask and finally the stereo headphones. I always fall asleep before the end of an AVE sleep session and I find it to be a very comfortable experience. Sometimes I wake up enough to remove the eyeset and headphones during a lighter sleep cycle, but I have woken up in the morning still wearing my devices. Here is what that looks like:
My husband uses a full face mask that covers both nose and mouth. His mask has two straps to hold the mask in place.
This still works well with the stereo headphones, but if you would rather not have so many cords, Dave recommends getting a SleepPhones headband.
The headphone jack is a standard 3.5 mm one, which is the same size as our stereo headphone jack. There is also a wireless set available. Here is my husband with the full face mask and the SleepPhones headband headphones:
My oldest child likes to use his CPAP with earbuds which he wraps over and around his ears so that the cords are behind his head and not going over his neck. You just need to make sure the earbuds that you buy are good quality stereo earbuds and that you make sure the earbud marked “L” is used on the left and the side marked “R” is used on the right to ensure you get the correct tones in the correct ears during the session.
There are earbuds that have three different sizes of earbud tip covers so that you can better adjust how the earbuds fit in your ears. You can wrap the cord so it is behind your ear.
Here he is with the nasal pillow CPAP mask, Omniscreen eyeset and earbuds. He made a choice to put the eyeset patchcord under the CPAP strap, but it could also go over.
My younger son didn’t like not being able to see through his eyeset, so we use a viewhole eyeset with the AVE device for him.
It is up to your personal preference as to whether you would like to wear the eyeset under the straps or balanced over the straps. Both my husband and son said that they assumed using the CPAP with the nasal pillow mask would be more comfortable. Here he is with a full face CPAP mask with a viewhole eyeset, earbuds and yes, turquoise hair.
I hope that this helps you in your journey of getting better sleep with both Audio-Visual Entrainment and your CPAP.
by Mary-Anne Janewski, B. Ed. -