I haven't heard of this, but I'm always interested in something new, which hopefully is also something better.  Who is the manufacturer?

Hi Ann,

The Hybrid mask is a combination of a full face mask and a nasal pillow system. It's been on the market for a few months now and like any other mask it works great for some and doesn't work for others. I have one and don't use it anymore, but there are folks on this forum who really like it. If you google teleflex hybrid you will get links to it.

Brian

I just got mine today. I'm excited about giving up tape. I so hope it works for me. I have already fitted it (small everything) and already know I can't do face contortions (can you with any?). The pillows don't fit as well as my swift so I hope that isn't going to be a problem.

And all these years I always thought I had a big nose.

AnnD wrote:

I haven't heard of this, but I'm always interested in something new, which hopefully is also something better.  Who is the manufacturer?

Respironics is the manufacturer - http://www.hybridmask.com

I've had mine for a little over two weeks now, and have been very happy with the hybrid. No mask is perfect, but this is the first one (my 5th!) I've been able to stay compliant with.


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Thanks you all for your input.  The Hybrid sounds interesting.  My main problem is that my mouth falls open as soon as I fall asleep, and that wakes me up.  So I've been taping my mouth, which works fine, but I'd rather not use tape if I could find another solution.  I tried one of the masks that covers both nose and mouth, and I couldn't make it work because again, as soon as I fell asleep, my mouth fell open and I got this big whoosh of air into my mouth, which woke me up.

Does the Hybrid solve this problem?  Any experiences out there?

Hudson RCI is the manufacturer.  It is distributed through Teleflex.


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Ann, while I haven't had the problem with air blowing in my mouth waking me up, the hybrid mask has a chin flap that I find keeps my mouth from opening like it did with a regular full face mask. I know what you're talking about as far as what the air feels like going in your mouth and it is like your mouth if being kept open by the air. I don't have that with the hybrid to the same extent as with previous masks.


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[quote="Will"][quote="AnnD"]I haven't heard of this, but I'm always interested in something new, which hopefully is also something better.  Who is the manufacturer?[/quote]

Respironics is the manufacturer - [url]http://www.hybridmask.com[/url]

I've had mine for a little over two weeks now, and have been very happy with the hybrid. No mask is perfect, but this is the first one (my 5th!) I've been able to stay compliant with.[/quote]



As a C-PAP user for many years, I too am always interested in trying something new, however this "Hybrid Mask" was incredibly disappointing. Some people who know nothing about sleep apnea got together and decided to design a product they could make a quick profit with. They spent all their time and money producing slick advertising, a DVD and fancy storage case, but did not do any research about what it's like to actually wear a mask and use one on a nightly basis, or even look at features existing products have as a starting point.

From the exhaust port that's noisier than a 747, headgear that gets tangled and can't be taken off and on easily in the dark, the "seal" that doesn't, and the annoying internal air flow pattern, this mask is an insult to sleep apnea patients!

My apologies in advance if I'm wrong, but it's very hard for me to believe that some of those "glowing reviews" about the Hybrid mask were not posted by shills for the manufacturer who has too many people in their marketing department and not enough in research and design.

My "gold standard" is the ResMed Ultra Mirage. It's been around for many years, so any new mask should be designed at least as well as the Ultra Mirage and then improve upon it. The Hybrid Mask design goes backwards in many ways. As patients, we deserve much better than this!

Respironics does not manufacture the Hybrid mask, however they do make excellent C-PAP machines that I can highly endorse. I am now on my third Respironics machine (Remstar Plus M-Series), With each generation, their machines have gotten smaller, quieter, more efficient, and even more attractive. It's too bad that mask design has not advanced as much as machines have. When someone finally does, they ought to make a lot of money.

Oh, and one last thing. One of the reasons I wanted to try the Hybrid mask is because sometimes I was mouth breathing, but the Hybrid Mask was so bad that I'd have to take it off after a few hours and put back on my Ultra Mirage nasal mask for the rest of the night. However, the reason I got my new M-Series machine was because I wanted to try it's C-Flex feature to see if it would stop the mouth breathing.

While the Hybrid mask was useless, the C-Flex feature of the Remstar has eliminated my mouth breathing problem. I really love Respironics machines! (and I am not a shill)

Elmer

The fourth post down is a sticky of hybrid mask posts.

Vicki


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That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

Shills for the makers of the Hybrid mask???  Elmer, how can you make such a ridiculous statement?  The people who love the hybrid (including myself) are thrilled with this mask.  In fact, I have only been using CPAP for three months and if it wasn't for this mask I wouldn't be compliant.  I need a full face mask but several others I tried on felt restrictive and I hated having something pressing on my forehead.  So, the Hybrid doesn't work for you but it does for a lot of us and I made sure to buy three of them so I wouldn't be without.  

Cheers,
Paul

I am very glad that you are happy with the Hybrid mask, and I apologized in advance before suggesting the notion of shills, but personally, I found this product to be designed very poorly.

Don't you find the supply air blowing across your mouth to be annoying? Are you not frustrated by the headgear that so easliy tangles and is so inconvenient to put on and remove? Aren't you bothered by how very noisy the exhaust port is and how the exhaust air blows straight out? Are you really able to get an effective seal without having to tighten the headgear straps?

The old Ultra Mirage has none of these deficiencies, so I can't understand why anyone would manufacture a new mask that has so many problems to begin with. (The UM's upper strap can be worn very loose so that nothing touches your forehead) Yes, we are all different in the shape of our faces and vary in the particular needs of the mask we choose, but there are some basic features everyone deserves. A mask should at least be comfortable, quiet, easy to put on and take off and make an effective seal without having to be worn tightly.

Since you've only been using C-PAP for three months, I can understand that you might initially be happy with any mask. C-PAP will truly change your life for the better. If you really need a full face mask, the Ultra Mirage nasal mask wouldn't be for you, and the Hybrid could probably be better than some other full face masks. Now, if it was redesigned to incorporate the long standing features of the Ultra Mirage, then, they might have a worthwhile product. But until then, IMO this Hybrid mask is a real disappointment. We deserve much better!

Elmer

The hybrid mask is made by Innomed. I have used this mask for over 4 months and love it. No mask will work for everyone, but this is a mask that will work for most. I don't find that the headgear tangles more than any othe headgear. I also have a CL2 and the hybrid is no noisier than the CL2. The The exhaust air also blows strait out on the CL2, the hybrid is no worse. You get used to the air blowing across your lips, just like you get used to the air blowing up your nose!I have no leaks(and the mask is not very tight), can sleep in any position(as comfortably as you can be with something straped to your face), and don't work for or get free stuff from any cpap company(but if any of them want to give me free stuff I'll take it)!

There is a redesigned headgear now available for the Hybrid.  I called Teleflex and they were happy to send it out at no charge this past week.  I did not care fore the Hybrid until I had the right combination of pillows and mouthpiece.  Once I had it dialed in, it has been perfect.  I also found that I had it too tight at first and loosened it up and the seal was perfect.  In addition, I can sleep on my side without any special pillows without breaking the seal and this mask does not leave any marks or sore spots on my face.  There is another forum available, which is very active, that has a huge database regarding this mask that might help.

Cheers,
Paul

The Hybrid is the 3rd mask I have used and I like it far better than the others.  I guess each user has to find what fits them best. For me, it's the Hybrid.


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[quote="ElmerFrom the exhaust port that's noisier than a 747, headgear that gets tangled and can't be taken off and on easily in the dark, the "seal" that doesn't, and the annoying internal air flow pattern, this mask is an insult to sleep apnea patients!

My apologies in advance if I'm wrong, but it's very hard for me to believe that some of those "glowing reviews" about the Hybrid mask were not posted by shills for the manufacturer who has too many people in their marketing department and not enough in research and design.

My "gold standard" is the ResMed Ultra Mirage. It's been around for many years, so any new mask should be designed at least as well as the Ultra Mirage and then improve upon it. The Hybrid Mask design goes backwards in many ways. As patients, we deserve much better than this!
[/quote]

Yeah, I was wrong previously about the manufacturer.

Anyway, read my signature ... your "gold standard" was absolute !@#! *for me*  It was just another failed attempt to be compliant with CPAP. It obviously works for some, but I had major leakage problems unless I clamped down hard enough to tear up my nose.

The mask is a very individual experience, and it is very insulting for it to be suggested that I'm shilling for someone. I've been on CPAP off and on since 2000. I've been through a number of masks in 6 years, and while I only put 1500 hours on my machine up to when I started again last month, I feel like I have a good amount of experience with it. Maybe it is your facial structure and mine, and the differences are why the Ultra Mirage works for you and the hybrid works for me, and it is not the same vice versa. I have no idea what you're talking about with a loud exhaust port, mine is fairly quiet. MUCH quiter than my Ultra Mirage, which would wake me up with the whistling noise coming from the silicon flap in the elbow at full pressure (all of 10cm). I don't understand where the exhaust blowing straight out matters. It doesn't impact me.  One thing that may be different is that I prefer the hose running down along my body rather than over my head. I have heard people who prefer to have the hose up over their head complain about the hybrid in that regard.

Headgear -- yep, the headgear tangles easily. My workaround is that if I need to get up at night, I don't take the mask off. I turn my machine off and detach the mask from the hose and just leave it on. Plug back in when I get back and go back to sleep. I'd like better headgear, but I don't feel like my workaround imposes on me overly much.

For me, the hybrid leaks less than any other mask I've used. It is the first mask I've used where I can sleep on my side (my preferred position) without major leakage. All of my previous masks left me stuck on my back all night. The only thing that was an issue initially was the nasal pillows. Reading through the forums, I saw that numerous people had cut the tab between the nasal pillows to get better positioning. Once I did that the leak out of one nostril was solved. I've never had any leak problems from the medium mouth piece.

The bottom line for me is that as far as full face masks go, the hybrid has been a success *for me*. With every other mask I've had, compliance was always sketchy because mask designs that sit on the bridge of the nose cause me problems. So I'd inevitably go through a cycle of using my machine for a week or two, then laying off for a week to heal, then repeat. I have not had that issue with the hybrid. To be fair, I never tried a straight nasal pillows interface with a chin strap or tape (I'm a mouth breather).

I have no interest in pushing anyone towards a particular product, and I really could not care what anyone else uses outside of its potential application to me. I can only relate what works and doesn't work *for me*, and the whys behind it. I just know that CPAP has been an ongoing source of frustration with more time spent *not* using it than using it over the last 6 years, and I've used my machine more in the last month since I got the hybrid mask than I had in the last 2 years combined. So you'll have to forgive me for expressing excitement over finding something that actually works *for me*


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