ON-X valve, do you require a wind machine to get to sleep?
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ski girl
Well-known member
Ha ha! I have a St Jude ticking time bomb and for the first six months I wanted to rip that thing out of my chest. I did indeed need a wind machine to sleep, I could only fall asleep on the couch with the air conditioner above me making noise. Then the ticking woke me up. And when anyone said rubbish like it was better I could hear it than not hear it, I wanted to throttle them.
It took about nine months for me to get less attuned to it but I still hear it all the time when I'm anywhere quiet. It's just got less annoying! Hope that helps, mine does seem to be an exceptionally loud little bugger .
It took about nine months for me to get less attuned to it but I still hear it all the time when I'm anywhere quiet. It's just got less annoying! Hope that helps, mine does seem to be an exceptionally loud little bugger .
My St. Jude was no problem for me. I don't really hear it at all. Sometims it is loud enough to hear, but I am never sure why. I heard it more in the beginning, but not now. I don't hear it at bed time at all, unless I am upset. However, I am in my 50s with the normal hearing loss that comes with age plus I am 5'11" and 220 lbs. If you are smaller, less fat, better hearing, your experience would most likely be different.
Oilman
Well-known member
When I first started to hear and fixate on the noise of my valve, I was 3 weeks out. For me the worst part was at bed time, it kept me awake listening and making sure it didn't stop, lol. Today at 5 months it's not a problem. I still hear it plain as day when sitting quiet or ready for bed. I too thought of getting some noise machine to distract me from the ticking, but with time and without notice, it seemed to not bother my sleep anymore. I have never heard anyone else's, so I can't compare the differences in noise. My family can hear it at certain times and we get a good joke and laugh. For me today, the noise is a good reminder that I am a OHS survivor and also how lucky I am to have my heart fixed. Going mechanical for me was the best choice, I don't think the brand of valve would have made a difference in noise level. I too was attracted to the possibility of lower dose warfarin and the pannus protection that's is built in to valve, but most of all the noise is a small price for me to pay, if this valve can last me my entire life, one can only hope. Good luck with your choices.
I hear mine ticking but it never keeps me awake or wakes me up. The only time I'm bothered by it is when I'm having PVCs and my heartbeat is erratic. Sometimes it helps to change positions (lay on my other side).
If you tell yourself in advance that it will bother you, it probably will. For me, I'm happy so long as it keeps clicking away. It helps to have a slight hearing loss.
If you tell yourself in advance that it will bother you, it probably will. For me, I'm happy so long as it keeps clicking away. It helps to have a slight hearing loss.
Harley2000
Member
I am 9 months this side of getting an ON-X valve. The first few weeks there was enough going on that the valve noise wasn't very noticeable.
After the first month or so I had to lie on my side with arms and legs in certain positions so I wouldn't hear the valve.
Now I don't notice it at all during the day and only occasionally when I first lay down to sleep. It is pretty easy to find a position on my side that allows me to go to sleep.
It does let you know that it is there every now and then by the ticking but no big deal.
Mike
After the first month or so I had to lie on my side with arms and legs in certain positions so I wouldn't hear the valve.
Now I don't notice it at all during the day and only occasionally when I first lay down to sleep. It is pretty easy to find a position on my side that allows me to go to sleep.
It does let you know that it is there every now and then by the ticking but no big deal.
Mike
sood
Well-known member
I am 18 days post op with an on-x valve. It is loud. I hear it all the time. Changing the way you sit or sleep helps alleviate the noise. I'm getting used to it. The worst is sometimes I can hear the valve ticking all the way up to my ears like its on a chord to each of my ear lobes. That doesn't happen often, but weird when it does. The noise doesn't bother me too much I keep telling myself this ticking valve will hopefully prevent me from having another OHS again.
What I fear the most is an obsession developing like when my first child was born I used to open the door to the nursery often just to make sure I could see her chest rising and lowering. I wouldn't want to fixate on the valve worrying if the ticking would stop. I'll talk with my surgeon about this during my appt with him the day before the surgery.
During WWII, people living in London wouldn't be scared when they heard the Germans V-1 buzz bombs, it's when they heard the motor quit making noise when it ran out of fuel that struck fear in them!
It's kind of surreal that after knowing for about 20 years I would require surgery someday and now that someday is down to 16 days. Time flies!
During WWII, people living in London wouldn't be scared when they heard the Germans V-1 buzz bombs, it's when they heard the motor quit making noise when it ran out of fuel that struck fear in them!
It's kind of surreal that after knowing for about 20 years I would require surgery someday and now that someday is down to 16 days. Time flies!
chaconne
Well-known member
Valve noise seems to be a very subjective topic. Some people don't hear it or mind it and others do. I don't know that any brand has proven to be the quietest, however, I've only heard good things from those with the ATS. Most of those I've talked to with the St Jude say they can hear it moderately or loudly. The On-X may be quieter, on average, than the St. Jude, but I have talked to those with the On-X that consider it loud.
The larger valves should, in general, be louder and the small ones quieter. I believe ATS has the smallest measurements for a given size. I have On-X's largest aortic valve, but I find it fairly quiet. I usually only hear it in a quiet room and others rarely hear it. My wife does not hear it in general, even in bed at night. I find the clicking soothing and have no problem with it.
The larger valves should, in general, be louder and the small ones quieter. I believe ATS has the smallest measurements for a given size. I have On-X's largest aortic valve, but I find it fairly quiet. I usually only hear it in a quiet room and others rarely hear it. My wife does not hear it in general, even in bed at night. I find the clicking soothing and have no problem with it.
Heart Of The Sunrise
Well-known member
I only occasionally hear my ON-X valve. Usually late at night. I feel it quite often though.
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There you go....it's all in how you approach it. Good for you! If I go tht route, I hope I can take your position.
Pat J
Well-known member
I've had my on x valve for 13 weeks. Initially it bothered me if I tried to go to sleep on my side. Now I rarely hear it.
RobThatsMe
Well-known member
I had both a St Judes mechanical valve, and now the On-X, both aortic valves.
They both seem to be about as loud as each other. I would say the On-X seems just a tad more loud. Still happy that I went with the On-X for my 2nd surgery though.
It took me several months after my first operation to get used to the sound. After my 2nd surgery I was already used to it, so it didn't bother me as it did the first time. I also used a wave sound machine to help sleep at night for the first few months.
If you can't hear a watch ticking in one of your ears, (that's if you can even find a watch that ticks these days!), then sleep on your side with you good ear on the pillow to muffle the sound.
Rob
They both seem to be about as loud as each other. I would say the On-X seems just a tad more loud. Still happy that I went with the On-X for my 2nd surgery though.
It took me several months after my first operation to get used to the sound. After my 2nd surgery I was already used to it, so it didn't bother me as it did the first time. I also used a wave sound machine to help sleep at night for the first few months.
If you can't hear a watch ticking in one of your ears, (that's if you can even find a watch that ticks these days!), then sleep on your side with you good ear on the pillow to muffle the sound.
Rob
I am glad that this topic was raised and many people responded. I am 19 days post op. I was well prepared for the surgery including the noise only to realise that the valve noise is slightly more than I expected 
.
I have a 23 mm st jude. The noise doesn't stop me from sleeping but I can hear it most of the time.
I was little worried initially as I felt the noise is increasing. Glad to hear this is normal.
I think I will hear it a lot less once I join work as daily commute and office noise will distract my mind more from my newly fixed heart.
.I have a 23 mm st jude. The noise doesn't stop me from sleeping but I can hear it most of the time.
I was little worried initially as I felt the noise is increasing. Glad to hear this is normal.
I think I will hear it a lot less once I join work as daily commute and office noise will distract my mind more from my newly fixed heart.
What was scary for me is when the noise changes. I don't know why it gets louder, but it no longer bothers me.
For example, I work in Quality Assurance, so sometimes my job can be confrontational. At the beginning of a potentially confrontational meeting (3 against 1), all of a sudden, I hear my valve. I never hear it at work at meetings but this lasted throughout the whole meeting. At work, if I sit a particular way and the room is dead quiet I can hear it. In the meeting, I was at first suprised, then a little alarmed, then I thought "hey my valve is telling me this meeting ain't as bad as OHS." Sometimes hearing the valve can help.
For example, I work in Quality Assurance, so sometimes my job can be confrontational. At the beginning of a potentially confrontational meeting (3 against 1), all of a sudden, I hear my valve. I never hear it at work at meetings but this lasted throughout the whole meeting. At work, if I sit a particular way and the room is dead quiet I can hear it. In the meeting, I was at first suprised, then a little alarmed, then I thought "hey my valve is telling me this meeting ain't as bad as OHS." Sometimes hearing the valve can help.
I do not hear is as much as I feel it. My heart/valve kind of rocks my chest.
I can lay on my back and fall asleep pretty easily for a nap, but a bedtime I really notice it. I find laying on my stomach helps.
I find being really tired helpful.
Stay Well
Scott
I can lay on my back and fall asleep pretty easily for a nap, but a bedtime I really notice it. I find laying on my stomach helps.
I find being really tired helpful.
Stay Well
Scott
DanielB
Well-known member
I only notice mine every now and then and it does not bother me. I've always said I like to hear it ticking -- tells me it's working!
Scott, I see you had your surgery at Cleveland. That's where I will be on 6/2/2013. Overall, were you pleased with the level of care you received there? Perhaps living in Cleveland was obviously a no-brainier in having it done there. I also see on your reoperation, you used the ON-X valve. If I may ask, did the doctor give you a choice or did he make the decision for you? If you made the decision, what won you over with the ON-X?
Lederman40
Member
My On-x is one loud dude. Not only do I use a sound machine, you can hear mine standing within five feet of me at times. My 4 year old son even tells me "I hear your ticker" when he's sitting in the back seat of the car and I'm driving! Six months in and it still drives me crazy. Doc says typically by two years you learn to block it out for the most part. I'm not counting on it. Better than the alternative though, right?
Jason2012
Well-known member
I like the sound of my ticker. I only hear it at certain times; small rooms or being around walls seems to amplify the sound, like if I'm in a bathroom or closet. As others have said on here -- sound means it's working.
It sounds like a timepiece. Classy!
It sounds like a timepiece. Classy!
