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In article , "SteveB" wrote:

"Michael Koblic" wrote in message
...
pyotr filipivich wrote:

I can hear mine plainly although I wear hearing aids. Others have
stopped and shushed me and asked, "What is that noise?" I usually
have some fun with them before I tell them. Soon after surgery, I
was up hiking in the mountains. I had a light pack on, and could
hear a drip, drip, drip. I checked my water bottles, thinking it
was one of them leaking. The second time I heard it, I stopped and
listened and realized what it was. It's plain as day, but gets
covered up most of the time by normal sound levels. But when it is
quiet, you can hear it.


I get bugged by the hum of florescent bulbs. A click in the chest
... I dunno. Might drive me over the edge.
OTOH, it would provide a built in metronome.

There are benefits. If you go into atrial fibrillation (heart "irregularly
irregular") you can tell your doctor sooner rather than later. Or if you
start having dizzy spells, you can tell your doctor how you do not hear
the clicking for 10 seconds before you pass out. Etc. etc. Also your
significant other can pick up on irregularities very quickly.

Anyway, the new valves do not make as much noise as the old ones used to
make. The Starr-Edwards (ball-in-a-cage) was wonderfull as the ball tended
to rattle in the cage.

--
Michael Koblic,
Campbell River, BC

Over the years, I have worn a device for a few days at a time. It was wired
to taped on electrodes on my chest. When I didn't feel well, or was feeling
faint, I would hit a button, and the device would record my heart's action
for a length of time. This info would tell the doctor what was going on.
Four wires, and the device was about as big as two packs of cigarettes
stacked end on end.

I was recently diagnosed with an elevated heart rate. I went in for a
routine physical, and my resting rate was over 100 bpm. It used to be
down in the low 70's, tops. Still not sure what was going on, but I
instrumented myself with an exeercise heart rate monitor I use on my
rowing machine. My heart rate slowly wound down over the course of a few
days, although it's still not where it should be. All the tests came
back normal, so the Doc just prescribed more exercise. It was useful to
be able to give him a good rundown on what my ticker was doing beyond the
one snapshot in his office.

All this technology stuff can come in handy occasionally.

Doug White