Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Venous hum
Introduction
Synonyms and keywords: Bruit de diable, devil’s noise, nun’s murmur
Overview
Venous hum is a benign medical condition where 20% of the blood flow travels to the brain and back to the heart. Due to the large amount of blood it can move quite fast causing the vein walls to vibrate which can create a humming noise to be heard by the patient.
This can also be confused with a heart murmur but is in fact not. It is heard throughout the cardiac cycle. The difference is easily detected by placing a finger on the jugular vein when listening to the heart. The murmur disappears when the patient is lying supine. It is also known by the names “nun’s murmur” and “bruit de diable” (the Devil’s noise).
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]