precordial or not?

i went through a period where i was not using my precordial that much. however now that i'm in a pediatric location i am using it much more and have noticed that i missed it's use.
the only downside is that i miss alot of the auricular action in the OR. ie table up/down etc and have to ask if someone said something to me. can you be right or left eared cause i seem to have my earpiece in the wrong ear.
aaannyway...for you older timers (mind you i did not say old just older) do you still use yours, and for the srna's do you use one or even have one?
d

gasspassah - although it gets on my nerves - i like the reassurance that my steth gives me...although precordial i really don't hear very well...when it is esophageal i am very happy to use it.

I have an earpiece...it really does not work very well though. Where can I get a better one because I really like the way they work!! Some of the CRNAs I work with really like theirs. I really like the esophageal stethoscopes and I usually rip the bell off one of those cheap steths and use that as a earpiece....Its actually not to bad.

I start class in January and know that my school requires one of these from their handbook-I don't know exactly what it's for(other than I'm assuming amplification of breath sounds???) and am sure I have to pay for getting one so can anyone give me an idea of how much they cost for budget planning???
Thanks folks!