Tick, tick....my valve is driving me crazy!

[Gnusgal]

When I was 5 I had a shunt put in to help get more oxygen to my heart. As the story goes, not long after that surgery I went to visit my grandmother by myself for the first time. After having put me to bed I came wandering out of the bedroom saying "NeeNee, I can't sleep. My heart's too loud." Throughout childhood I also remember friends sleeping over and just as we were drifting off to sleep they would ask "What is that sound?!" It was my heart, swish-swish-swishing.

Fast forward to 1997 (21 years old). I had OHS to patch my ASD and VSD and to take down said shunt. Upon awaking I was freaked out that I could no longer just listen to take my pulse. It took awhile, but I got used to it.

THEN in 2002 I had my mechanical valve put in. I can still hear it and from time to time it does keep me awake. But that is usually when I'm having difficulty sleeping anyway. Like others have said, I will sometimes count the ticks like sheep. Or I have a hand held hangman game that I will play to keep my mind off of it and other things until I'm too tired to keep my eyes open. That works well most of the time.

I'm not going to promise that the sound will go away or that you'll soon be free of the sleep issues. But I will say that I'm pretty sure that if they were to take my mechanical valve out I'd be complaining that it's too quiet. Getting used to it doesn't mean that it won't still bother you. But it should be less as time goes by. Good luck with finding the right solution for you!

 

[NewValveNY]

Night Valve Ticking

Night Valve Ticking

Dear Robin,
I had a St. Jude aortic valve placed in Jan 2007. I totally understand and empathize with you! The first time I heard the tick tick I looked for my watch on the bed.. but then I realized that the noise was in me..I still hear the tick tick ( sometimes it sounds like a "tink tink"). The ability to hear it changes with my position. Sometimes, it seems the noise is in just under my neck.. my cardiologist explained that in certain positions, the sound can travel.

In any case, I have learned to accept that the ticking is a sound that lets me know that my heart is doing fine! I hear the ticking during the day ( and always at night) and the major way I deal with it is through acceptance and knowing that the sound is a sign of a healthy heart.Shortly after my surgery, I would wake up and hear the tick and while I initally did not like to hear it, I would say to myself. "Another day has been granted..that's my heart I hear!" The tick tick has become part of me. At night, I go to sleep on my back since I hear it more when I am on my side.

Robin, it takes time, but over the next months you may get used to the ticking and learn to be somewhat accepting that it is a "good" sound. A sound machine.. like nature or plain white noise may help mask it, as others have suggested.
Good luck with your recovery!
Allan

 

[aussigal]

I use a fan everyday of the year. I just turn it away from me during the colder months. I can still hear the valve ticking but I like hearing it and often use that as my distraction from the outside world to get to sleep. I used to need complete silence to sleep now I like a constant noise to drown out the world.

 

[duncanjo]

Ya, no kidding. It bugs me every now and then, specially when you hear it tick, tick, tick then you start thinking just wait that tick didn't sound right LOL...


replacement mech valve 04APR08

 

[RobinH]

Thanks to you all for your support and suggestions! I was able to find a tiny desk fan at Brookstone for $30. It fits quite nicely on my bedside stand (it's about 4" by 3") and the volume is just right to cover up my valve ticking. I just point it toward the wall so that I don't get chilled. It is also very portable and will easily fit into my suitcase when I travel. Problem solved!

 

[Illinois Al]

Robin, I have had a St judes for 11 years. At first I had the same problem but it was not long before I had to struggle to hear it at all. It just becomes part of your rythum. That being said I remember it drove me WACKY! just give it time. I have just had a surgery to repaire an aneurysm with a dacron graft and am having a constant heavy beat that is driving me nuts.

The first night I was moved out of the ICU and to the cardiac unit, I paged the nurse and asked her how to turn off the bed vibrator My valve seemed so loud and the blood "whoosing" that it felt like there was a vibrator and it was turned on!

Needless to say my nurse got quite a laugh out of my request.

I still notice it at night, but like everyone else has said, I am getting used to it with time.

 

[terence]

oh - my valve is so loud too. But, then again, - in between the snoring, the wind gusts that batter our exposed hillside flat, and the neighbour's baby - the tick just has to join the queue when it comes to keeping me awake

Glad to hear you found a solution.

 

[fscizzy]

My wife has an application on her iPhone called Ambiance that mimics a white noise machine. She uses the one that sounds like it's raining, puts her out every time.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Old retired valve industry guy here. Mechanical valve noise has been a competitive issue among the manufacturers since ATS came on the scene several years ago and promoted their valve as quieter. Quantifying valve sound is very difficult as it is highly individualized depending on a patient's physiologic make up, hearing acuity, etc. Also it is not just the volume of the sound, but also the frequency and there are even ways to measure how annoying a particular sound is. There have been studies conducted where patients are surveyed on their perception of the valve sound in the early post-op period and one year post-op. In general these studies demonstrate that patients are more sensitive to the sound in the first weeks and months and then acclimate to it and may even become comforted by it as time goes on. White noise background such as a fan is a good solution as are the other suggestions in previous posts. Some versions of the old ball and cage valves were notorious for the racket they created, but patients usually grew to tolerate even those. As I am sure many of you have already been told by your surgeon, your careers as professional poker players may have come to an end

Mr. Magoo

 

[SHEEPDOG]

I hear mine...

I hear mine...

... when I am in the bathroom. Must be an acoustics thing. That is pretty much it. My wife says she can hear it when we DO THINGS THAT HUSBANDS AND WIVES DO. I guess i'm lucky to have a slight hearing loss in my left ear. Two days home from hospital and she thought we had a H2O leak. I use it to take my pulse, just count the clicks.