Hearing the Valve at night

[Buffy41]

Tomorrow is 3 weeks since my surgery, I had my aortic valve replaced with a mechanical one. My valve is so loud at night when I'm laying in bed and find it so hard to fall a sleep. I even try to put a pillow over my chest to muffle it Wondering if anyone else had this problem and had any suggestions?

When I'm laying there I can hear the beats, and also hear it miss beats which is unsettling. No wonder I can't sleep Would this just be afib as well? I guess during the day when I have palpitations I feel it but just don't hear what it is doing.
I'm going to be wearing a monitor for a day, and have an ultra sound next week to check it all out.

 

[Bina]

I remember having my hubby pull the batteries on all the ticking clocks in the house.
When that was done, I got used to my own "beat". It will settle down and actually become a comfort.
Can you sleep with a little bit of quiet music on the radio?

 

[Bridgette]

As Bina said, you will gradually get used to it - although it is unsettling for a while, I know.

I used to put the radio on a talkback station, not too loud, and drift off to sleep listening to that rather than listening to the ticking. Also, I did hug a pillow at first too, to muffle the sound.

You will find something that works for you.


Good luck
Bridgette

 

[dick0236]

Buffy 1, the noise will get much softer or, maybe, go away after time. Hang in there .

 

[Guest]

hear the heartbeat

hear the heartbeat

It's been 2 years since my valve replacement and I still hear every beat. At night I turn on a small fan placed near my bed. It took quite a few trials to find the one with the right sound frrequency to do the trick. I tried several 'white noise' machines as well. Now that I have the one that covers the ticking sound, I pack it in my bag whenever I travel rather than take a chance on my host having one that works.

Another aspect of this: the fan only covers the sound if I'm sleeping on my right side. Later, after I've fallen asleep, I often sleep on my back, but when I awake in the night I turn back to my right side to fall asleep again.

I still recall the tremendous relief I felt when I found this solution. One thing that I had used somewhat successfully before I found this solution, I slept with earphones playing music. But I had to remove them after a while so it wasn't as satisfying a solution.

 

[Eva]

Buffy,

Your heart is still recovering from the trauma it went through...give it some time and it will improve. I cannot say more, as luckily for me, my ticking was very faint from the beginning, and it still became fainter!! I hardly hear it now.

 

[zipper2]

Tomorrow is 3 weeks since my surgery, I had my aortic valve replaced with a mechanical one. My valve is so loud at night when I'm laying in bed and find it so hard to fall a sleep. I even try to put a pillow over my chest to muffle it Wondering if anyone else had this problem and had any suggestions?

When I'm laying there I can hear the beats, and also hear it miss beats which is unsettling. No wonder I can't sleep Would this just be afib as well? I guess during the day when I have palpitations I feel it but just don't hear what it is doing.
I'm going to be wearing a monitor for a day, and have an ultra sound next week to check it all out.

Buffy i can hear both my valves now in sequence,mind you having lost my aortic click for a year and now both valves clickng,i have to say the louder the better
i had my ecg done yesterday and my family doc gave me a extra set of
stetocopes he had,told me to take them home and listen all i want(haha)
maybe i'm addicted and seems everyone round me can hear the clicks too.

It does quiet down later in years trust me,but i enjoy the clicks but then my
hubby says i'm weird anyhow(Lol)
You will get used to it i hope.

zipper2 (DEB)

 

[avery582008]

get a very loud fan

get a very loud fan

dear Buffy, I feel your pain with the loud clicking and becoming irratated, i had AVR and acending aortic arch replacement. Im extremely loud and the doc isnt sure why. He says to be thankful to hear it and i am. I have a very large fan next to my bed that makes a lot of noise, in fact it will nearly blow the covers of the bed and my wife can still here me clicking but im able to sleep thank God. Hang in there and you will learn little tricks to make your way easier. Im 13 months post op and im still learning little things that help me out. Goog luck to ya and God Bless Call on me if needed, my name is Glenn

 

[catwoman]

For a while post-op, I could hear my valve ticking over my car's radio, air-conditioning, road noise, ceiling fan over my desk & computer noise.
I had to fly to Tulsa OK about 7 weeks post-op and was afraid that while on the jetbridge, another passenger would hear my valve ticking away and think I was carrying an explosive device!
My fears were unfounded. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened had I been detained or arrested, though!

Nearly 6 years post-op, I seldom hear the ticking -- mostly when I'm settling to go to sleep at night. I'm a fairly sound sleeper, so it doesn't bother me. The ticking is muffled, soothing.

 

[TXGal]

I definitely remember the first months post-op after valve replacement back in 2000 hearing the ticking. I remember getting nervous to step on an elevator or anywhere that was quite because I was afraid people would hear it and think I was a freak, lol.. I would start rustling my purse or try to do something to make noise so no one would notice.. but I've definitely had my moments were someone would ask me "do you hear a watch?"
Like everyone here is saying, it'll lighten up and eventually you will never even notice it. I haven't had a problem hearing it or it bothering me since 2000. If you are having problems sleeping, I would turn on the t.v. or radio lightly.. maybe play a relaxing, soothing c.d... I hope you're able to get more sleep soon!

 

[Petros]

When I'm laying there I can hear the beats, and also hear it miss beats which is unsettling. No wonder I can't sleep Would this just be afib as well? I guess during the day when I have palpitations I feel it but just don't hear what it is doing.


Hi Buffy.
No suggestions since I did not find any solution. After 1 1/2" year of my aortic valve replacement the noise still bothers me (especially at night) but only if I pay a lot of attention to it. Time is a great healer and noise would be the last thing to bother you in such a degree.
Concerning the missing bits I also feel the same from time to time. All of my follow-ups are OK but still lately my heart will periodically miss a "tick".
Wishing you a healthy future,
Petros

 

[kpearse]

The ticking bothers my wife sometimes, I only hear it once in awhile. Sometimes my kids will tell me they can hear it, but I don't.

 

[RobinH]

I also use a very small fan placed on my bedside table. The drone of the fan is perfect for drowning out the sound of my very loud valve. My husband likes the fan a lot and finds it quite soothing. I got the little fan at Brookstone for about $30.

 

[aussigal]

I use a fan which is fabulous as it muffles all other distracting noises in the neighborhood as well so I get a really great nights sleep. I can still hear my valve if I have the fan on low but I like the sound of my valve ticking and will often concentrate on that as my "white noise". Some find lying on one side is often quieter than the other...mine is quieter if I lie on my left side.
Some of us just have very thin chest walls that have great acoustics!

At 3 weeks out you probably have some valium or sleeping pills left over whcih you could try for a few nights if you are really missing your sleep.

 

[Philip B]

Ticking & Clicking

Ticking & Clicking

The clicking associated with mechanical heart valves is related to body acoustics. It varies among individuals. The pillow thing never worked for me; the clicking just continued inside my head.

I'm approaching two years since my AVR surgery and I often hear the clicking very clearly. Sometimes it still bugs me when I'm trying to go to sleep, but most of the time, I pay little attention to it. I think it's simply an issue of becoming less sensitive to it over time, but that's just my personal opinion and other's may have a different perspective.

-Philip

 

[Cooker]

You get use to it ... after three years mine still seems loud sometimes at night .... but it helps to keep rhythm

 

[olefin]

It will get better as the years pass but I still hear mine at night. My wife also says she hears it at times when we are close together. I like the sound... it's the sound of life.

 

[just1gary]

When I first mentioned the ticking noise to my cardio he said that it was only a problem if you hear it stop ticking........

Anyway after several months of ticking I stopped hearing it consciously and don't even think about it. From time to time the ticking noise pops up as if someone turned up the volume on it but it is the exception and not the rule. Give yourself some time to adjust.