Frequently Asked Questions

Mute is a patented respiratory technology designed to gently stent open your nasal airway during sleep. By increasing the volume of air travelling through the nose and making nasal breathing easier, Mute may alleviate the incidence and severity of snoring.

Mute has been designed with the anatomy of your nose in mind. It sits comfortably in the nose and by gently dilating the airway, it may alleviate nasal congestion and obstruction, making it easier to breathe. By breathing more freely through the nose, the need to breathe through the mouth is eliminated, which is a common cause of snoring. Mute is available in 3 sizes (small, medium and large) and has a patented independently adjustable dilation system to further personalise the fit to each nostril.

Once the snorer has correctly fitted Mute, they should be able to feel a noticeable increase in airflow through the nose immediately. By using Mute each night, both the snorer and their partner may feel the benefits of uninterrupted sleep from the very first night. Regular sleep interruptions caused by snoring may interfere with your natural 90 minute sleep cycle, preventing you from reaching the deep sleep phase. It’s critical the body reaches the deep sleep phase to recover physically and mentally from daily activities. Using Mute over time to improve sleep quality may produce many individual health benefits including a reduction in daytime drowsiness and an improvement in mood, concentration and memory.

We offer a trial pack which contains a small, medium and large inside. This can be purchased online and in retail stores depending on your location.

Generally, women are either small or medium and men are likely to be medium or large. With a trial pack, you can try all three and see which is most comfortable for you. We would recommend this method.

Otherwise, you can print out a sizing guide and size yourself at home. Just make sure you print the page as actual size in your printer settings.

The page is located at Mute Sizing Guide

We also have video about fit and sizing which can be found at tips.mutesnoring.com

Store locations can be found at Global Store Locator.

When Mute is the right size it will fit snugly and be comfortable to wear throughout the night. If it’s too small then it may fall out and/or not open your nose enough to reduce snoring. If Mute is too large then it may not fit inside the nose at all or it may feel uncomfortable.

You can purchase a Mute Trial Pack containing all three sizes, which will allow you to find the right size for your nose.

Mute is moulded with ultra soft medical grade polymers which do not contain BPA or Phthalates. BPA is typically associated with polycarbonate and phthalates with PVC. In addition, both materials are latex free.

Just like the rest of our faces, our noses are not symmetrical. There are small differences between the size, shape and structure of our two nostrils. These small differences may be normal, the result of scar tissue from surgery or from trauma to the nose. Mute’s independent dilation system (adjustable paddles) allows snorers to counteract any asymmetry by personalising the fit of Mute for maximum airway dilation and comfort.

The soft ribbed paddles on Mute’s dilation system help Mute stay in place throughout the night, minimising the chance of the device shifting its position during sleep. The ribbed paddles also provide a cushioning effect where Mute is in contact with the internal walls of the nose.

Each Mute device can be worn for up to 8 hours each night, for up to 10 nights.

It is recommended in the instructions to wash the device with mild soapy warm water, paying close attention to cleaning the dilation mechanism. Then rinse thoroughly and dry well before storing out of direct heat and sun. Good idea to rinse again for next wear.

In order to maintain optimal device performance, comfort and fit, we recommended that Mute is replaced after 10 uses. The device has been tested and shown to be effective for up to 10 uses. Whilst the Mute may appear fit for use beyond 10 nights, optimal device performance cannot be guaranteed because:

1. Of the risk of compromising hygiene standards.
2. The device may discolour or the ultra-soft polymer may begin to harden, compromising the perfect, soft fit of Mute.
3. The dilation mechanism will wear and may not hold its position in the nose or dilate effectively.

Mute has been designed for adults who snore due to night-time nasal congestion and/or obstruction causing them to mouth breathe. Mute is not appropriate for use by people under 12 years old.

Mute nasal device is not for the treatment of sleep apnea. If you think that your snoring may be a symptom of sleep apnea, you should consult your doctor or a sleep specialist.

Mute should be fitted before bed and left in for the duration of sleep. When first using Mute, it is suggested that you fit the device and wear it for a couple of hours (during the day or before bed) to ensure you have the right fit and to familiarise yourself with the feeling of dilated airways. Most people find they get used to Mute after about 2 days.

Along with the soft ribs on the paddles to aid retention, Mute has been designed to use the natural anatomy of the nose to keep it in place throughout the night; however finding your correct size is key. If Mute is too small, the device may not be retained in your nose. The curved arms of Mute should hug the internal curve of your nostrils, with the ribbed paddles finishing in line with the top of your nostril crease (where your nostrils meet your cheek). If the paddles finish below this crease, try a larger size. When you start using Mute, you may also find that you unconsciously remove the device during the night because it is a new sensation. We recommend that you periodically wear Mute during the day for a couple of hours or before bed to get used to the feeling. It may be also helpful to clear your nose well before fitting.

Our nasal respiratory technologies, Mute and Turbine are both designed to make breathing easier during sleep or during exercise, increasing airflow on average, up to 38%. However, as the needs of the sleeper and the athlete are very different, we have built some different features in to each product.

During sleep, the device needs to be light and flexible to ensure it sits inside the nose comfortably throughout the night. To achieve this we have used more flexible and transparent materials to allow for different sleeping positions.

For sport, comfort and retention during percussive movement is vital, so aside from choosing a different material combination, we have included additional retention features on the paddles and curved arms to comfortably hold it in place. Additionally, the Turbine includes a fine tuning feature allowing the wearer to easily adjust the dilation of each nostril while the device is in place, such as increasing the dilation when under heavy intense exercise.

Mute is designed to reduce the incidence and severity of snoring by encouraging nasal breathing. Other tips to further reduce snoring include: alcohol reduction, sleeping on your side, getting fit and losing weight. Combined with Mute, snoring may be reduced, however, if snoring persists, we recommend talking to your doctor, as it may be a symptom of other sleep disorders.

Snoring is definitely a personal thing because we all snore for different reasons. Not all snoring is related to nasal breathing and so finding the product that treats your type of snoring is important.

Mute is a nasal dilator designed to improve nasal breathing and increase airflow by overcoming nasal obstructions like a deviated septum, narrow airways or congestion. These types of obstructions can often mean people open their mouth to breathe during sleep which may cause the soft tissues at the back of the throat to vibrate creating the sound we associate with snoring.

Other people may not have an issue with nasal breathing and snore due to other reasons, such as lower airway obstructions. For another group of people, it may be a combination of the nose and throat, so combining products like nasal dilator and say a positional pillow or a nasal dilator with doctor prescribed mandibular splint may be right for them.

Finding out why you snore is a journey, so we are pleased that Mute has at least helped you to rule out nasal obstruction as a potential cause of your snoring. We encourage you to keep searching for the reason and would recommend speaking to your doctor, or sleep specialist as they can help assess for other causes.

Our product is labelled latex free.

Our chosen material for Mute is a medical grade SEBS, a synthetic rubber. Our supplier of our raw material confirms that their medical grade SEBS is latex free. SEBS is used in everyday items like handlebar grips on a bike, sports mouth guards, teethers, toothbrushes, toys, films, bags, disposable packaging and products used by dentists.

We can also confirm that it is a requirement that our manufacturer maintains a latex-free environment ensuring that during moulding and packaging, that the product does not inadvertently come into contact with latex from any other source.

It is not overly common however some people may experience sensitivity.

It is hard to make any definitive suggestions, as sensitivities can vary. It could be related to size. For instance, if Mute is too big for your nose, it may be putting pressure on a couple of areas.

Alternatively, if the size is right but you have a dry nasal lining, this may also create some sensitivity. The dry nasal lining may be caused by air conditioners like heating and cooling. Additionally, dehydration can contribute. Aside from keeping hydrated, there is a product called Nozoil that may provide some relief. FLO Nozoil spray contains three forms of Vitamin E and helps to shield the nasal tissue from the drying effects of inhaled air and to help reduce the effects of inflammation.

Correct fitting is also important. The bridge of Mute should span across the top of the nostrils. By spanning across the top, Mute would be sitting correctly which is back into the nose rather than up the nose. I would suggest going to tips.mutesnoring.com to see our fitting video.

Lastly, keep Mute really clean between uses. Make sure you clean it well with mild warm soapy water, rinse well and dry thoroughly (paying close attention to the ratchet mechanism). Then store back in the pack during the day. We recommend up to 10 uses per device. We have tested cleaning Mute with a 3-minute dissolvable Sterident tablet and it has no effect on the materials. If you would like to do this, please follow the instructions for 3-minute Steradent tablets, then rinse and dry well before storing.

Aside from keeping hydrated, increased airflow can cause the nasal lining to feel dry. Dry nose relief products such as Nozoil may combat these effects. They come in sprays or gels and generally contain three forms of Vitamin E blended with sesame seed oil to help to shield the nasal tissue from the drying effects of inhaled air and to help reduce the effects of inflammation.

Mute does rest inside the nose and assuming you have the right fit, will make light contact on the floor of the nose, the septum and internal side of the nostrils. The design itself has been carefully crafted to minimise the pressure on the septum, meaning that it doesn’t stent or dilate by pushing out from the septum. Instead, the design uses the floor of the nose to launch from. We have also used medical grade soft polymers to maximise comfort.

If you have had a nasal break or have a sensitive nose, we would suggest going down to a smaller size than possibly indicated by our sizing guide. Women are generally small to medium and men typically are medium to large.

However, with all that being said, we also acknowledge that some people, particularly with sensitive nasal linings, may not be able to tolerate any internal nasal dilator, no matter how soft.

There are many factors considered in choosing the right material to mould Mute with including its medical grade status, followed by flexibility, softness and durability while being able to have the mechanical strength for the adjustable dilation feature to operate well.

For reasons of hygiene first and foremost, we recommend that each Mute is used up to 10 nights if the cleaning instructions are followed*. Mute is worn inside the nose, so it is important to consider this in how long each device is used. Secondly, the mechanical action of the dilation (pin) feature may, with extended use, wear and not hold its dilated position in the nose. Thirdly, with ongoing use, the materials may stiffen with age and may not feel as soft as first use and some people have reported that the materials slightly discolour over time.

For these reasons, we recommend that Mute is used for up to 10 nights.

* It is recommended in the instructions to wash the device with mild soapy warm water, paying close attention to cleaning the dilation mechanism. Then rinse thoroughly and dry well before storing out of direct heat and sun (back in the pack). Rinse again before next wear.