You returned the device, the study is complete, and now you are waiting. The days between shipping the kit back and hearing what the results say can feel like the most nerve-wracking part of the process. This piece walks through what happens once your device is returned, what your report will contain, and what the possible next steps look like depending on the outcome.
What Happens to Your Data
Once the device arrives back at the lab, the recorded data is prepared for scoring and clinical interpretation. Scoring involves reviewing sleep stages, breathing events, oxygen levels, cardiac activity, and body position. Onera’s system records the physiological signals used in this assessment and supports data processing, scoring, and reporting. [4]
A sleep medicine specialist interprets the findings and provides a diagnosis and treatment recommendations, if any, as required by the FAA’s OSA assessment guidance. [1]
From the time the device is received back at the lab, your final report typically takes three to five business days. If additional review is needed, it may take longer. Contact the ESD team if you have questions about your report’s status.
What Your Report Contains
Your report is a comprehensive clinical document that brings together the study findings and the physician’s interpretation. It includes:
AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index): The number of apneas and hypopneas per hour of sleep. This helps assess sleep apnea severity and is considered alongside other findings.
Sleep architecture: Sleep staging assessed using brain activity (EEG), eye movement (EOG), and muscle activity (EMG). This shows how your sleep was distributed across different stages.
Respiratory and oxygen data: Measurements of breathing, respiratory effort, and blood oxygen levels throughout the recording.
Cardiac activity: ECG recordings that provide information about heart rate and rhythm during sleep.
Body position tracking: Information about your sleeping position, which can help the interpreting physician assess whether breathing events vary with posture.
Clinical interpretation: The physician’s written assessment of the findings, diagnosis, and any treatment recommendations.
Onera’s Sleep Test System records the physiological signals used to assess sleep stages, breathing, oxygen levels, cardiac activity, and body position. These recordings support the clinical interpretation summarized in your report. [4] [5]
The report is prepared to support your FAA medical submission. Share the complete report with your AME, who can confirm whether additional records are needed for your case.
If Your Results Do Not Show Sleep Apnea
If the interpreting physician finds no sleep apnea or other sleep-related disorder, your AME can help you submit the findings and clarify the next steps. Under FAA Specification Sheet B, negative findings still need to be sent to the FAA. They do not automatically resolve an existing deferral or other medical concerns. [1]
Keep a copy of your report. If you are asked about sleep apnea again at a future medical exam, having the previous findings available can help your providers review your history. If symptoms persist despite a negative result, discuss them with your treating physician.
If Your Results Show Sleep Apnea
A sleep apnea diagnosis does not automatically end your flying career. The FAA has a pathway for considering medical certification once effective treatment is demonstrated. Your AME can explain how that pathway applies to you. [3]
Your treating physician will discuss the findings and recommend treatment. For FAA purposes, the current OSA Treated Status Report specifies PAP treatment when the initial untreated AHI is 15 or higher. PAP includes CPAP and other positive airway pressure devices. Your documentation must address whether treatment is effective, well tolerated, and used consistently. [2]
Your AME will review the required information and determine whether you meet the applicable issuance criteria or need further FAA review. Deferral is not automatic in every diagnosed case. The FAA’s instructions allow issuance in qualifying circumstances when the required findings are satisfactory and you are otherwise qualified. [2]
A positive result can also affect your current flying privileges. Specification Sheet B restricts exercising medical certificate privileges after a positive sleep-related diagnosis until the required documentation is provided. Confirm your certificate status and applicable requirements with your AME before flying. [1]
Once certificated under a special issuance authorization, follow its conditions and renewal instructions. Ongoing treatment documentation is generally required, and the FAA’s current treated-status instructions describe annual issuance for qualifying pilots already on an authorization. [2]
Our guide to PAP compliance for FAA renewal explains how to keep usage reports and treatment records organized.
What ESD Does at This Stage
Our goal is not simply to deliver a sleep study. It is to help pilots stay organized and prepared for what comes next, from initial results and treatment documentation to future FAA medical renewals.
Receiving a sleep apnea diagnosis can bring up concerns about both your health and your medical certificate. Dave and the team can help with practical questions about the testing process and obtaining the records you need to share with your medical providers.
Practically, we can help with:
Obtaining your report and directing clinical questions to the interpreting or treating physician.
Organizing the testing records you need to share with your AME.
Explaining the general special issuance process in plain terms.
Connecting you with providers familiar with PAP therapy and the documentation pilots may need for the FAA.
Answering questions about ESD’s testing process as they arise.
Your treating physician explains the clinical findings and manages treatment. Your AME helps determine the certification requirements for your case. Keeping those roles clear helps you get answers from the right person.
The Bigger Picture
The FAA’s guidance allows certification to be considered once sleep apnea is effectively treated. A diagnosis does not automatically mean the end of flying, but the outcome and timing depend on your medical findings, treatment response, and the documentation required for your case. [3]
What matters most is following the appropriate testing and treatment pathway, working with your AME, and keeping complete records. ESD’s Type II at-home sleep testing for pilots supports the diagnostic portion of that process.
What to do While You Wait
The days between shipping the device and receiving your results can feel long. A few practical tips:
Avoid drawing conclusions from online symptom searches. Your report and the interpreting physician’s assessment will provide information specific to your study.
Follow your existing care plan. Continue prescribed treatment and follow any medical or flight restrictions already in place.
Keep your paperwork together. Retain your referral, FAA correspondence, and any submission deadlines.
Ask questions about the process. If you are unsure when to expect your report or how to obtain a copy, contact the ESD team.
Take the next step when the findings are available. Review the report with your treating provider and coordinate certification questions with your AME.
Once your results arrive, we will be available to help with testing records and practical next steps.