Author Topic: Can you hear your own heartbeat? (Read 5442 times)

Wowbagger · « **on:** 06 June, 2015, 03:38:03 am »

Provided it is quiet enough, I can, and I have been able to all my life. I can remember lying in the dark when I was small, afraid of the thumping noises that I could hear and apparently no-one else could. I didn't realise what it was until relatively few years ago.

I can still hear my heart beating whenever I go to bed, but now I know what it is I find it more reassuring than otherwise. Sometimes I can hear it beating faster than it should, especially if I am infected, as now, or have had too much alcohol, which seemed to be the case most of the time when we were on holiday.

Kim · « **Reply #1 on:** 06 June, 2015, 06:31:13 am »

Yes. I had a hearing test recently, and at some of the frequencies the main issue was hearing the tones under the sounds of my pulse and breathing.

numbnuts · « **Reply #2 on:** 06 June, 2015, 03:21:24 pm »

My heartbeat can keep me awake more so if I try and sleep on my left side

Biggsy · « **Reply #3 on:** 06 June, 2015, 03:46:33 pm »

Occasionally, but I tend to just hear tinnitus noise when I try to listen to silence these days (even though it's at a much higher pitch than a heartbeat).

hellymedic · « **Reply #4 on:** 06 June, 2015, 03:58:07 pm »

I hear my heart beat if I lie on my left side.
I usually lie on my back and do not turn onto my side though.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #5 on:** 06 June, 2015, 09:11:49 pm »

I can certainly hear my heartbeat in bed. It's transmitted through the mattress and pillow. But normally, no

Kim · « **Reply #6 on:** 06 June, 2015, 09:22:02 pm »

Barakta just managed to hear a heartbeat for the first time recently thanks to a rather nifty electronic stethoscope...

GruB · « **Reply #7 on:** 06 June, 2015, 09:53:42 pm »

Yes when in bed. It doesn't keep me awake but does Mrs G and she complains it rocks the bed.

hellymedic · « **Reply #8 on:** 06 June, 2015, 10:09:21 pm »

Welcome back GruB!

Over much of April of this year, I had repeated episodes of feeling weird, which were probably due to medication I have now stopped.
During these episodes, partner said my heart was MUCH louder than usual and he could hear it across the bed.

I was lying on my back at the time.

Wobbly John · « **Reply #9 on:** 07 June, 2015, 12:27:18 am »

Isn't it the blood rushing through the bloodvessels in the ear that you hear rather than the actual heart?

Yes often in bed at night, but also at the end of a time trial.

hellymedic · « **Reply #10 on:** 07 June, 2015, 01:03:29 am »

Heart sounds are mainly the valves closing. I suppose you might hear turbulence in some positions.

Salvatore · « **Reply #11 on:** 07 June, 2015, 09:27:29 am »

Sometimes I can hear my old iron bedstead squeaking in time to my heartbeat. Nothing that can't be cured by 3-in-1.

hellymedic · « **Reply #12 on:** 07 June, 2015, 01:34:41 pm »

Thinking about this a bit more, the place I REALLY hear my heart is in the bath, when most of my head is underwater to wash my hair.

peliroja · « **Reply #13 on:** 07 June, 2015, 11:20:19 pm »

I hear mine sometimes in bed, but then we do live in the quietest place EVAH!

geraldc · « **Reply #14 on:** 08 June, 2015, 11:51:31 am »

Thread reminded me of this story, where the lady could hear and see her heartbeat

http://www.radiolab.org/story/heartbeat/

noisycrank · « **Reply #15 on:** 08 June, 2015, 01:56:51 pm »

Are you sure its your own heart?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tell-Tale_Heart

T42 · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 June, 2015, 05:44:43 pm »

I can not only hear mine if I lie on my left side, but if I stay that way for any length of time the beat alters perceptibly, becoming more intense though not changing frequency. If I then roll onto my back or right side it takes about 20 minutes for it to return to normal. When I mention this to my doc he murmurs "curious..." and moves on to something else.

GruB · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 June, 2015, 11:51:54 am »

Hellymedic, the bath is another ace place to hear loads of stuff when your head is under the water. I often have a beating sensation in my ears, like a pressure beat that appears to be my heart beat. It is not a sound per se, but more of a pressure thumping.

hellymedic · « **Reply #18 on:** 14 June, 2015, 01:27:14 pm »

There are normally two heart sounds-usually described as 'Lub Dup'.
Seemed nice and clear in last night's bath.

Other (abnormal) heart sounds are likened to 'Tennessee' and 'Kentucky'...

tonyh · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 June, 2015, 04:30:29 pm »

(Apologies for Off-Topicness:)

GruB, delighted by your re-emergence in these parts!

T42 · « **Reply #20 on:** 17 June, 2015, 08:20:29 am »

Quote from: T42 on 12 June, 2015, 05:44:43 pm

I can not only hear mine if I lie on my left side, but if I stay that way for any length of time the beat alters perceptibly, becoming more intense though not changing frequency. If I then roll onto my back or right side it takes about 20 minutes for it to return to normal. When I mention this to my doc he murmurs "curious..." and moves on to something else.

The above was based on past observation, and indeed I've avoided sleeping on my left side for a couple of years now.

Recently, though, I've lost a deal of weight (thigh no longer touches gut when I'm on the drops) so this morning I rolled onto my left side and was perfectly comfortable: all was quiet.

Good incentive, that.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #21 on:** 17 June, 2015, 11:28:37 am »

I can hear mine. I also can 'see' it; a flicker in my eyes, presumably from the pressure change.

Jaded · « **Reply #22 on:** 25 June, 2015, 12:55:12 am »

Just heard my own

Mind you, I was filling the bowl at the time.

hellymedic · « **Reply #23 on:** 25 June, 2015, 09:15:52 am »

Quote from: mrcharly on 17 June, 2015, 11:28:37 am

I can hear mine. I also can 'see' it; a flicker in my eyes, presumably from the pressure change.

I can see a pulse wave move some of the hair, which falls across my neck.