A Lifetime Of Breathing Through My Mouth
I have never been able to pull a deep, satisfying breath through my nose. For most of my life I just breathed through my mouth and assumed that was normal.
Then my second daughter was born and I had a stark realization. I wanted to set a healthy example for my two girls, so at 39 I set myself a goal: run the first 5k of my life.
There was one itty bitty problem. My breathing made running miserable. A short jog around the block felt like breathing through a bent straw, and honestly it felt like drowning.
After struggling for a week I gave up and went to my doctor to find out what was actually wrong.
He told me I had a nasal obstruction that limited how much air I could move through my nose. Bad enough to limit my life, he said, but not so severe that I needed surgery. I was in breathing limbo: life limiting, not life threatening.
Surgery would be too expensive, so my only option was nasal strips. I tried them. They were uncomfortable, embarrassing to wear, expensive, and they did not help me breathe better at all.
His final advice was to find lighter exercise.
The Yoga Class Where I Lost It
I put running on the backburner and joined a yoga studio instead. Something more my speed, I thought.
Nope. Even on the easy poses I was sucking air and feeling like I was about to pass out, while the instructor kept telling me to breathe in through my nose.
One day I marched up to her after class and told her I could not breathe through my nose, that it felt like I was suffocating.
She raised her eyebrows like she had heard my story a thousand times. Very calmly, she explained that I was a mouth breather, something that affects roughly 50% of adults, and that until recently the only options were the same dead ends I had already considered.
Then she told me about the Hale Breathing Aid.
What Hale Breathing Actually Is
I did not expect much. Hale is a nasal breathing aid that helps you breathe through your nose the moment you start wearing it.
It was co-created by Dr. Patrick Byrne, chair of the Ear Nose and Throat department of the Cleveland Clinic. Before that, he spent two decades as Director of the Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Division at Johns Hopkins.
He was tired of watching his patients shell out thousands for nasal surgery they did not really need, so he invented this instead.
It has since won multiple innovation awards and is trusted by ear, nose and throat doctors around the country as a safe, affordable way to stop mouth breathing.
My instructor also mentioned it had just passed preliminary clinical trials, and that a few students in my class were already wearing one. I had not noticed a single one of them, which is partly why I ordered mine.
How It Works
Hale sits comfortably inside your nostrils, which lets it open your nasal valve directly.
That detail matters more than I realized. Your nasal valve is responsible for 90% of breathing obstructions, so opening it is what clears a blocked airway and allows smooth, effortless breathing, even while exercising.
A spring loaded hinge provides gentle pressure to open up the nostril, which relieves the blockage caused by the obstruction. Two cushioned pads and curved flares support the nasal passage so that pressure never feels sharp.
Getting started took me about a minute. You choose your size from the Hale Breathing Kit, small, medium or large, for a comfortable fit. Then you insert it and start taking deep breaths. That is genuinely the whole process.
Who It Is For
Research suggests as many as one in two adults breathes through their mouth, and that can lead to a number of health issues. Based on what Hale says and what I have seen in my own circle, it is worth trying if you:
- Are a lifelong mouth breather. If you have always breathed through your mouth, you will be blown away by how it feels to finally take a full breath.
- Struggle with allergies. If pollen ranks as Enemy Number One, this is worth a look.
- Struggle with eczema. Breathing through your nose helps humidify the air you inhale, so if your nasal cavity is chronically dry and blocking up, Hale could help.
- Want to get back in shape. Nose breathing helps your diaphragm work properly, and it helps improve lung volume, which is exactly what makes cardio days survivable.
- Are prone to snoring. Breathing through an unobstructed nasal cavity can lower your risk of snoring and sleep apnea.
What Actually Changed For Me
The first yoga class I did with Hale in, I was shocked at how well I could breathe. No drowning feeling for the first time in years.
Two weeks later I ran a full mile. Three months after I started wearing it, Hale helped me cross the finish line of my first 5k, and I did not even hate it.
Since wearing it regularly I have more energy, I sleep better, and I have actually started to enjoy exercising. If it can make me fall in love with exercise, it can probably do something for you.
I have told all my friends about it and it has done the same thing for them. They are sleeping soundly, dealing with fewer allergy symptoms, and breathing through their noses around the clock.
Other owners say similar things. One man over six feet tall found the large size terrific, loves that nobody can tell he is wearing it, including his wife, and says he finally sleeps better at night. Another wears it while working out and says that instead of panting through his mouth, he can keep breathing through his nose, which makes the whole workout easier. A third had tried sprays, allergy pills, a neti pot and other nasal devices, and said this opens up his nose like nothing else.
Price, Guarantee And Where To Buy
Hale is sold direct through the official Hale Breathing site, and that is where I would check the current price, since the discount they offer moves around.
What tipped me over the edge was the rest of the package: 95% positive reviews, a patented design, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
It is also drug free, so there are no medicines or painful surgeries involved. The flexible materials conform to your own nasal anatomy, the small clear band makes it virtually undetectable, it is designed for round-the-clock use, and the kit includes a compact case plus optional insertion and removal tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know which size to get? The Hale Breathing Kit includes small, medium and large, so you choose the one that fits comfortably.
Can other people see it? The band is small and clear, which makes it virtually undetectable to people around you, day or night.
Can I wear it while I sleep? Yes. It is designed for extended, round-the-clock use.
Does it involve drugs or surgery? No. The design works without medicines or surgery.
How fast does it work? It helps you breathe through your nose from the moment you start wearing it. The bigger changes in my sleep and energy showed up over the following weeks.
What if it does not work for me? There is a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is what made me comfortable ordering.
My Verdict
I went in sceptical and came out running a 5k, so I am not going to pretend to be neutral about this one.
One honest warning, though, and another owner put it better than I could: it does not feel like a magical cloud. It feels like you have something in your nose, because you do. It took me a few days to stop noticing it, and now I sometimes squeeze my nose just to check whether it is in. It also is not a replacement for seeing your own doctor, which is where my whole story started.
If you have spent years breathing through your mouth and have already burned money on strips and sprays, this is the one I would try next.
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