valve noise

[westie]

i choose the on-x valve because it seemed to offer me the best chance for a complication free future, but it was nice to hear that is was also reputed to be very quiet.

and it was very quiet for the first month, but since then it seems to have got progressively noisier; now i can hear it in any relativly quiet situation. the cardiologist and gp both say everything is perfect so it seems there is no medical problem.

i am still 100% satisfied with the on-x valve but i wonder if others have experienced a valve that got progressivly louder.

given that everyone seems to say the on-x valve is the quietest, i pity those among us that choose one of the "noisy alternatives"

 

[Bridgette]

Yeah, I have the On-x too - I didn't choose it though.
I didn't know till after the op what brand of valve I had - just knew it was going to be mechanical. I didn't know about this site till 3 days before my op so didn't have time to study brands of valves etc...but after I started reading up on this site following my surgery I was glad to see that it was considered to be a premium brand with many possible advantages.
I don't think my valve is very noisy - except at night in a quiet room. Then I can hear it and sometimes it makes getting to sleep quite hard. But I guess I've slowly gotten used to it - it hasn't got progressively louder like yours Westie, rather it has just stayed at the same volume I think.


Bridgette

 

[geebee]

Interestingly, my St. Jude has gotten quiter over the years but my old Bjork-Shiley never did.

Have you lost any weight since surgery? Sometimes the noise depends on how much tissue is between it and the outside world.

I also find that my valve is louder when my INR is higher. Could just be coincidence but it happens too much for me to not think it's connected.

 

[ctyguy]

I have an On-X and while I can't hear it, others can. Im good actually with not being able to hear it because I think it would make me bonkers if I did.

 

[njean]

Actually I have quite a "racket" going on in my chest since I have a new St. Jude in the aortic position & a 33-yr old shiley in the mitral position.

Luckily I've managed to block out the noise & I rarely hear them unless I become conscious of them as I am doing right now as I post this.

I'm sure in time, you will be less aware of your ticking too!

 

[catwoman]

Westie:

Since I don't have an Ony-X, I suppose I have a "noisy" valve. However, I seldom hear it unless I'm in a tiled room (bathroom).

I'm at work right now (our only part-timer threw in the towel last weekend and our newspaper department is a 365-day one, so until they hire a replacement my co-worker and I are stuck!). I **thought** I heard my valve ever so faintly ticking away a minute ago and then realized, no, it's NOT me; it's a quartz clock on a nearby wall. Never noticed that clock ticking away before, because I've never been alone in the office.

 

[Rich]

I always wonder why some hear them and others don't.
My St. Jude aortic valve is twelve years old, and I havn't heard it since day one. The only time I hear anything is at night when I might be laying on my chest, and then it is only a slight thumping feeling.
In addition I have always been on the thin side and still am.
One thing I would recommend is not to eat something close to bedtime that might make your heart pump more blood for digestion. Hopefully it will help keep it quieter for sleeping..
Rich

 

[SHEEPDOG]

I have the ON-X...

I have the ON-X...

... and also hear it in a small room (ie bathroom) At first, after I had a shower in the hospital, I thought the shower was dripping. NOPE! It was ME When I got home, my wife started to look around and SHHHHH me up. "I hear water dripping!, she said. I let it go for a minute and then told her it was me. I can actually take my pulse (under the right circumstances) just by listening to my AVR ON-X Valve. This is ofter 3.5 weeks so I hope it will get quieter.

 

[ponygirlmom]

If it makes you feel any better, I have a tissue (bovine) valve, and before that I had the valve I was born with, and when they get/got going, I can hear them! Inside my head, of course; I don't think others can hear them, but that doesn't make a difference when you're trying to sleep.

Thuk, thuk, thuk....

 

[Duff Man]

If it makes you feel any better, I have a tissue (bovine) valve, and before that I had the valve I was born with, and when they get/got going, I can hear them! Inside my head, of course; I don't think others can hear them, but that doesn't make a difference when you're trying to sleep.

Thuk, thuk, thuk....

I can hear mine too... it's actually gotten louder over the years. The mechanical valve noise issue will definitely be something I'll have to consider carefully, because the noise I have now keeps me up at night. Some people have alot of noise and others have none.

Westie, do you have trouble sleeping?

 

[Susan BAV]

In regard to mechanical replacement valves, I've read that mitral replacements tend to be louder than aortic replacements and smaller replacements tend to be louder than larger ones.

My small aortic (tissue) valve seemed to be pretty loud in my ears, particularly at night, for a few months post-op; but it got better.

 

[lance]

"Noisy" valves

"Noisy" valves

When my mechanical was first implanted I could hear every tick, and could take my pulse listening to them. The sound has never bothered me and I found the rhythmic clicking relaxing while falling asleep. Actually the number of persons bothered by by the "noise" surprises me.

Alas it's a rare occurrence now when the click is audible.

Now, if only something could be done for the ringing in my ears.

 

[dtread]

I got an On-X and did not hear mine at all while in the hospital, but one of the nurses said she could hear it from about 2 feet away. She was the only person who has ever said they could hear it without a stethescope. I did not hear mine until after I got out of the hospital, and that was only if the room was very quiet, and it would just be a very faint ticking. After 2 or 3 months mine quieted down and that was the last I heard it. I never hear it now; over a year post op.

 

[sue943]

I rarely 'hear' either of my valves. When I saw a different GP the other week when I was feeling ill the doctor was very surprised when I said they were mechanical, he said they sounded more like tissue valves to him. He repeated this over the telephone when speaking to a cardiologist as to what to do with me - he told the cardiologist that I looked 'ropey' !

 

[Leeroy996]

Can people nearby hear the ticking? Do you get any reactions from people unaware of your surgery.

 

[Susan BAV]

Can people nearby hear the ticking? Do you get any reactions from people unaware of your surgery.

I've read a few humorous experiences in regard to this by various mechanical valvers here. The sound often gets blamed on someone's watch.

 

[Gnusgal]

I have a 6 year old St. Jude's valve in the "morphological tricuspid position" (whatever that means). It's been loud from day one, and got even louder after I had my bi-v ICD implanted. Even my cardiologist commented on it being louder. I'd thought it was just me, but apparently not!

There are TIMES when it bothers me. But generally I can tune it out. Sometimes I think the people who "can't hear" their valve are just ones that are better at tuning out. But then I got to thinking about my audiology courses I took a LONG time ago (my first of three majors in college). Perhaps it's just that the pitch of the ticking happens to be one of the ones that goes first in hearing. I remember learning that the higher pitches tend to be lost first (which is why men "tune out" their women so well ), and to me the click is pretty high pitched (for a click).

As for others noticing, it has happened to me many times. The funniest was when I was riding in a car with my friend and her mother. I was in the back seat and they were both in the front. The radio was on, we were talking, and there was road noise so it was very easy for me to tune out the click. Suddenly my friend says "Man, your watch is loud!" I said "It's not my watch, it's my heart." She didn't believe me and asked to see my watch. I showed it to her and said "See. It doesn't even have a second hand!" She was so amazed. She'd known about my surgery, but I guess had never heard it before then. She then had to tell everyone else at her house about it and tell them to listen! LOL! I have tons of other stories like this too, but that's my favorite.

 

[Leeroy996]

I think the ticking is cool. You could make up some good stories.

I have a huge ugly scar on my knee from a car accident. My standard reply is "It's a shark bite". Nobody doubts me either.

 

[perrypiratesdad]

The way I look at it is if I wake up in the morning and I can hear my valve ticking, then it's a good day.

 

[johnb]

I have a 27mm St. jude valve. Right after the operation there was some slight ticking that I would hear if I slept on my left side. Now, four years later, still hear the ticking at night, a bit louder than 4 years ago. Also on the right side but not as bad. It tends to keep me up for a while when I first go to bed...never did get used to it.