Which stethoscope should I buy as a Nursing student?

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So I was browsing on amazon and came across a bunch of stethoscopes between $5-$10 so i bought two different brands. I got those in the mail yesterday and i hate them! They are cheaply made but then again i understand you get what u pay for. I bought them because each had rave reviews from nursing students so i guess a lot of students are using those for nursing school. My problem with them is the moment i put them on, my ears hurt like hell. I cant leave those on for more than 10 seconds without wanting to cry. I am thinking of keeping these for backup and buying a well made stethoscope for regular use. My first question before i splurge is will the better or more expensive stethoscopes not hurt my ears? Second question is which stethoscope is worth buying since i will be a nursing student come January? Third question is should I even buy another scope or just use the ones i already bought? Do all steths hurt in the ears? And how can i keep my ears from hurting if i use the ones i now own? Please help pick a steth! Thanks in advance.

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I've never had them hurt my ears... maybe change the plastic ear thingies to ones that fit your ear better?

I don't think you need a hugely expensive one, but you just bought 2, see if you can't get them to not hurt and if they work then Iw ouldn't spend more money you don't have to

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Specializes in None.

I, too will be starting in January (very excited!). Right now I work as a CNA on a medical-surgical/telemetry unit and got some nurses opinions. I talked to one nurse that bought a Littmann for $60.00, it is a basic one and said that it works perfect for her. Since I am getting mine as a present, I asked for a nice one. I'm getting the master cardiology III. The reason I wanted that one is because, I can use it on both pediatric and adults (not sure which I want to work with when I graduate) and they say it is good for critical care, which is what I want to do eventually. I feel you do get what you pay for, and if you don't need/want anything expensive I'd go with a basic Littmann. The nurses also said that another reason they like Littmann is that the earpieces are rubber instead of plastic.

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Specializes in Psychiatry, Oncology.

Hi there:

I am starting my nursing program in Jan and I got a Littmann. This was my thought process:

I had one of those cheap ones, but my husband, who is a volunteer EMT, tried using it and said it was complete garbage. He has a Littmann. The program I am attending suggested a few options: Littmann was the least expensive (~$70) and there were a lot more expensive ones like Cardio 3 with 5-6 different attachments ($150+). I picked peoples' brains here on AN and the consensus seemed to be to go with Littmann and not to splurge on the more expensive one until I know in what field I will be working.

Hope this helps.

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Specializes in Medical Oncology, ER.

Go with the cheapest one that works, I got a hand me down when I started and yea it hurt my ears like crazy with the hard plastic earpieces, and the sound transmission was not the best, BUT it trained my ears to really listen. Students also tend to lose them, doctors will "borrow" them, etc. When I graduated I bought myself a littman classic se II

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I've "lost" 3 stethoscopes and thankfully they were all cheap 40-60 dollar littmans. I splurged on the cardiology 3 and also got a personalized stethoscope cover for it off of etsy- now it shows back up in my locker if I leave it out and none of the cardiologists ask to borrow the pink and grey chevron covered beauty :)

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When I graduated I bought myself a littman classic se II

This is what I bought initially, and I love it. I can hear very well with it, no discomfort, and Littman offers a very nice manufacturers warranty (5 years, I believe).

Never lost them, but I bent them one time in clinical when they got caught on a cabinet handle (do not leave them in your side pants pocket!). I sent it into Littman, they fixed it for free, shipping and all.

Edit: Also to mention, I got the sexy dark hunter green, and my name etched on the head. Can't wait to add RN to it!

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Thanks everyone for your input!

So it soundz like the cheap steths i have should be good for now while i m in school. I just need to figure out if i can get better ear tips.

I have decided that if the pain gets to be real bothersome then i may get the cheaper littmans.

Or maybe once i start my clinicals if i like a certain scope then i can buy that.

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Specializes in Pediatric.

I have a bottom of the line Littman. It's still 100x better than the cheap ones. I've never had a problem with it and had it since around fall of 2007.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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I have the Littman II. However, I still didn't like the ear piece that it had. I ordered the small littman ear piece replacements (my litmann came with the large size), and it was exactly what I needed.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000LJWI5A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1384990165&sr=8-1&pi=SL500

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Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.

almost 95% of nursing students are broke. If you got it made go for Littmans. What do I have? A cheap $25 stethoscope. If you can find and afford a cheap $60 Littmans thumbs up to you. There are different levels of cheap. Get one that has both a bell and a diaphram.

Honestly in nursing school besides hearing the heart and lung sounds normals no one really knows what they are listening too. It will take years of practice to get things like S3 versus S4.Yes audio files have the perfect sound so students get the idea but in real life with the patient talking breathing moving, I see no need for a Littmans at this stage. All you need is something that tells you what is normal and what is abnormal.

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I plan to get a Littman classic 2... On medisave.com they do the engraving for free and shipping is also free. The one I am eyeing is around $84 bucks. I will keep it very close LOL but with my name engraved on it, and I will probably buy a pin for it too, I can't imagine someone wanting to steal it. On a completely different note -- I am staring in January as well... where are you guys going to school?? I am really excited to meet some of my new nursing school friends, but orientation isn't until December :whistling:

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