DALLAS—
Robert Couch recently went on a mission to find a custom fit CPAP mask."I went on message boards and said, does anybody make a custom mask?" Couch said. "One that doesn't require two inches of rubber and sticks this far out from my face?"
Couch had gone through twelve masks and hated each and every one of them--he said they were either uncomfortable or would lose the seal and blow air around his face instead of into his nose.
"I always say any sleep apnea mask would work for anyone as long as you didn't want to sleep in it," Couch said.
He finally found Acurest--an Australian company that makes a custom fit masks called TrueFit--but there was a problem larger than Australia and Texas combined.
"We need to see our clients to make a mold of their face," Managing Director Scott Coulter said. "It is step one in the process so either I come to you or you come to me."
Couch didn't want to go there so he found Medical Art Prosthetics in Dallas which created a mold of Couches' face and then sent to Australia.
It was perfect--so perfect that Acurest is now partnering with Medical Art Prosthetics to make the TrueFit mask easier to get.
Couch pulled an old mask of a plastic bag full of old masks.
"The second I roll over onto that it's going to push it off my face," Couch said.
But not anymore--Couch said he and his wife now sleep in the same bed--and he can sleep in any position he wants.
"The first real night's sleep that you get undisturbed, and this mask makes it happen, because the old mask, they move on your face and you have to wake up and make constant adjustments," Couch said. "The first night you get to sleep a solid six, seven hours, eight hours is unbelievable."
Acurest Managing Director Scott Coulter said the TrueFit mask costs about $1,400.00 but is usually covered by insurance because it lasts three years--longer he says than standard masks.
As for Robert Couch?
He feels 20 years younger and that is the gold standard.
"A good night's sleep is priceless," Couch said.
