Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

[check updates at the end for a comment on a 'Snoring Lab' app] My snoring was keeping my wife awake, or causing her to sleep in the guest bedroom. Vacations and hotels were a particular problem. And it got worse with some weight gain during the Covid year. A friend recommended this type of solution (he eventually had a custom set made by a dentist). My wife and I agreed to give this a try. I'll attempt to return to this review every day or so to update the review as long as there is new information. I read the companies information, and many reviews, positive and negative. I had an idea of the range of experiences to expect. I started with the #1 mouthpiece, as recommended. As for "Value for the Money" - the two supplied mouthpieces feel well constructed. The plastic is thick and sturdy, yet pliable, as it needs to be. There are no burrs or sharp edges. I think they recommend replacing them every... six months? After my initial two nights, I expect it to last that long, easily. Still, they are just two pieces of molded plastic, and manufacturing them at scale has to be pretty cheap. Many things go into setting a price of an item, and 'perceived value' means setting a higher price may make people think the item is 'better'. If they sold this for $10, would I dismiss it as just a piece of crap? Hmm, they do offer a subscription that I didn't check out. Maybe the subsequent purchases will be much cheaper? [UPDATE: 10 to 15%, so not much cheaper) NIGHT ONE: NO SNORING. But also not much sleep. As fully expected, the mouthpiece was uncomfortable, but not unbearably so. I felt pressure on both upper and lower front teeth, and it was odd (and uncomfortable) to have my lower jaw pushed forward, even that small amount. It was enough to interrupt sleep often, though I probably slept more than I thought I did. The literature recommends trying the device for short periods before using it all night, to get used to the feeling. I didn't do that, but I did stay awake reading and listening to podcasts for a while before 'shutting down'. I was able to 'tough it out' (not that tough) and keep wearing it all night. The literature (and my friend) also warned me to expect that my jaw might feel sore, and would be a little 'out of place', when I removed the device in the morning. That was true. My jaw was still pushed forward a bit, and the 'bite' was off. That lasted for a little under an hour, when I noticed that all was back to normal. It felt a little sore for a short while. NIGHT TWO: NO SNORING. I didn't always snore, or at least it didn't always keep my wife awake. But again this morning she reported not hearing any at all. Now I will say that she has a vested interest in the success of this experiment which might slightly skew her report in a positive direction, just to keep me going across any bumps in this road. OTOH, I sometimes do hear my own snoring. Sometimes it wakes me up. None of that the past two nights. On night two, I slept better. The mouthpiece still felt odd, still uncomfortable, still put pressure on my teeth, but noticeably less than Night One. My jaw remained out of place for a while (half hour?) after I removed it. My teeth feel normal now, in mid-afternoon, with no lingering effects. NIGHT THREE: a little snoring early, she reports, but I stopped when she prodded me to roll over (which I don't remember). I slept better, probably about average, which means I woke up ever few hours to pee. The mouthpiece was 'less uncomfortable'. And still about a half hour to feel normal after removing it. I'll add that it's easy to clean. I use a surplus toothbrush and dish soap. There are no hard-to-reach crevices. NIGHT FOUR: No snoring. This is the first night I can report that my teeth didn't feel sore at all from pressure. I'm not saying it's comfortable. That'll be headline news if we get there. But it didn't hurt, even a little. It's been out about a half hour, and my bite is returning to normal, though if I clench my teeth some, I can feel a bit of tenderness. One thing I haven't mentioned, but the literature notes: drooling. I sleep with my mouth closed (AFAIK). The mouthpiece doesn't allow my lips to close perfectly. They are closed, but it doesn't take much for them to open a bit and drool a little saliva. This is a minor thing, but something to note. I didn't sleep well last night. I went to sleep about midnight, and was awake from 4 until about 7, then slept until 9:30 (I'm retired, and usually sleep in with no alarm). I'm not blaming the mouthpiece. Note that it didn't keep me up the night before, and this happens now and then. But one of the advantages the manufacture suggests is better sleep. I don't expect that at this point while I'm still getting used to it. It would be nice if that happens. NIGHTS FIVE, SIX, SEVEN (Maybe Eight, I've lost count). We've been in a hotel on vacation the past four nights, and my wife reports little to no snoring. At home, she was able to escape to the guest room when I was snoring. Not possible in a hotel, so the goal was to make this vacation work, and it's been successful. As I mentioned, I'm getting used to it. My sleep has been iffy. Last night was pretty good. I'm looking forward to 'better sleep', but while it doesn't hurt, it's still a mouthful that's hard to ignore until I fall asleep, if I do. I'm hoping it becomes totally comfortable. Stay Tuned. ANOTHER WEEK goes by... minimal to no snoring. I don't know if it'll ever get to the point that I don't notice it, but it continues to be 'less uncomfortable'. I don't dread using it. The only chronic issue is a little drooling, which is not a big deal. I wouldn't say my sleep has improved, but it's not worse. I typically wake up after about three hours to pee, then again after three to four hours, when I might or might not go back to sleep for a couple of hours. Sometimes it's easy to go back to sleep after that first interruption, sometimes not. This hasn't changed noticeably. I'll be back to report any significant changes, maybe in a few weeks. I'm expecting to continue using the mouthpiece long-term, as I'm sleeping OK and my wife is sleeping (with me) much better. UPDATE: Well, it appears I do still snore a little. The 'no snoring' reports continue to come from my wife. However, I heard about some phone apps that track snoring. I tried one called SnoreLab. It just uses the phone's microphone to record at night (no sensors, no wristbands, etc), and the app analyzes what it hears. You see a visual display of the sound and you can play back the audio. I've used it for two nights at this point. It rates the sound from quiet to light to loud to 'epic'. So a little sense of humor, but mostly all business. I went to bed around 1 am, and got up at 9, so 8 hours of mostly sleep. The breakdown was 79% quiet (no snoring), 14% light, 6% loud, and 1% epic. I think the 'epic' was actually a cough just after waking, before stopping the app. Listening to the audio, yes, it was snoring at several volumes and intensities. Hard to say how 'real life' loud it was because there was no reference. But not loud enough to disturb my wife, anyway. She will be out of town for a few nights soon, and I'm interested in running the test without the mouthpiece. Meanwhile, I'll keep recording to build up a track record in the app.