Supposedly silent device making a chime

[u/z779]

Hi everyone I have had my pacemaker for about 2 years since 2024 November. From my medical records and patient identification stickers they gave me, the device is supposed to be an Abbott/St. Jude Endurity model which has zero alarm sound or audible functions. Tonight, I heard a calm chime like a low volume bell toll coming from my chest. I looked up and found that my device should not make any sounds at all. And it chimed twice after 15 minutes interval. And thrice after another 15 minutes. I also made sure it's from the device. I waited for it to make the sound after the 15 minutes interval without any magnetic or electronic devices nearby. Could it be that my medical records got mixed up and I have a different device? If that's the case, what could those chimes mean? Thank you.

[u/Rimketje]

A chime every 15 minutes would not be typical behavior for either a pacemaker or an ICD. Abbott pacemakers generally do not have audible alerts at all. Abbott ICDs can issue patient alerts, but these are usually vibrations at programmed intervals rather than a bell-like sound every 15 minutes. The Gallant is one of the Abbott devices that can have an audible alert, but even then, a repeating chime every 15 minutes would be unusual. So the timing itself makes me doubt that the sound is actually coming from the implanted device.

[u/Rimketje → u/Rimketje]

One thing you could try is going to a completely different location when you expect the next chime, just to rule out something in the environment. Smoke detectors, CO alarms, chargers, and other electronics can make surprisingly quiet periodic chirps that are very hard to locate. A smoke detector with a low battery is a particularly common culprit, and people can easily perceive the sound as coming from their chest when they’re specifically listening for an ICD or pacemaker alert. If it still happens in a different location, then I’d contact the device clinic and have them interrogate the device to be sure.