Thank you notme! Unfortunately, he needs the mask because on top of ALS, he has severe sleep apnea. That's a good idea though - wearing it when he's watching TV. Any ideas how he can make a signal to his nurse when he wants to take it off?
They make various masks that are much less scary. I just got one today that is WOMDERFUL. It's called a SleepWeaver. I don't know if it would work, but I'd certainly find out.
As for notifying the nurse, a bell, perhaps? Something that attaches to any body part he can use. With a chin strap, a mask that just covers the nose should work. Many have ALS and sleep apnea. I don't have ALS, but I have apnea, weakened diaphragm muscles and weakened accessory muscles, so a Cpap wasnt enough for me, I had to have a bipap. Are you sure he shouldn't be on bipap as well?
The masks that cover just the nose are lots less scary, and if he can keep his mouth shut when he's awake, he wouldn't need to use a chin strap while he got used to it.
His cpap company should be able to let him try several masks til he finds ome that works. A lovely lady donated his sleepweaver mask, but I absolutely love it. It's all cloth. But she did say it couldn't be used it the pressures were too high. Mine apparently aren't, as it works fine with my ancient machine that was also donated.
Mine also has the ramp setting, it gradually builds up to full pressure. It didn't bother me as much that way when I was first getting used to it. The other thing is to be sure the humidifier is working properly so he doesn't get dried out from it.
A search of SleepWeaver should pull up Roses link to their website.