50 decibel aortic valve :-|

[NomadicOwl]

Hi friends,

I am losing my friggin mind over the sound of my ON-X aortic valve lately. Surgery 5/2023. The first few months I only heard it if I leaned forward. But over the last few months, it's increasingly loud. (Examples below.)

It bothers me so much that my psychiatrist gave me Xanax for the worst days. I am jealous of everyone who says you get used to it. I cannot imagine getting used to something that I can hear over a normal TV volume.

Although this app is not calibrated (so the decibel number could be off), you can see the heartbeat is clearly detectable over ambient room noise (which includes a fridge and heating system). [I scratched out instantaneous measurements while taking the screenshot itself. Focus on the heartbeat pattern.]

Elaborating: Three observations make me think it objectively got louder. First, two coworkers in the last month have asked if I'm wearing a watch, yet not a single comment in the year of work and school before that. Second, lately I've occasionally turned up the TV to hear over it.

Most notably, during a hearing test, I expressed my concern that I would miss some of the tones only because of my heart valve. The tech was surprised and said that isn't possible unless the valve is at least 50 decibels. So I got the idea to try an app.

I can deal with warfarin (still testing weekly; it's all over the place) OR the sound, but together they're destroying my mental health. Just need to vent. <3

 

[pellicle]

Sorry to hear about the sound. Setting aside calibration, measuring sound intensity needs distance to make sense. This is typically at 1meter from the source of bit stated.

https://pressbooks.pub/sound/chapte...e square law and decibels,sound level by 6 dB.

As you can read there having the microphone closer amplifies the measurement.

I'm about to hit the sack for the night but reach out if you want a hand with INR

Best wishes

 

[3mm]

ON-X aortic valve lately. Surgery 5/2023. The first few months I only heard it if I leaned forward. But over the last few months, it's increasingly loud

I am very sorry to hear about this; you are in a tough situation. Have you talked with your cardiologist about this? Are there other changes in your health during the last few months? I worry that this may be a warning sign of other health problems.

I normally do not hear my On-X aortic valve. However, sometimes I am attacked by premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) which I feel/hear in my chest. It is important that I discuss these with my cardiologist and electrophysiologist.

I urge you to have your noisy valve examined by your cardiologist. Good luck!