Help with a stethocope

[becka9058]

Basically, I am a student in the UK starting my first placement next week. Prior to this, we have been doing skills sessions at university where we have been doing BP and TPR. In skills we have been borrowing the university stethoscopes which are Littmann Classic II. I find them very hard to hear.

I have created this post as an appeal for advice. I have also tried the Littmann Master Classic II and also can't hear this one either. I'm sure you'll probably wonder if I'm using it correctly; I'll just clarify that I have been noticeably hard of hearing since I was a teenager. My question to you is simply: Could you recommend a stethoscope I would be able to hear through?

I understand that there is the option of an electronic stethoscope where the sound can be adjusted volume-wise. However, I am reluctant as I do not want to have to explain myself to the staff on the ward why I have bought it as well as the thought of it getting lost. Plus, I see that as more of a last resort. My university has recommended that we buy a stethoscope and my friends have got theirs which are the ones I have mentioned above and tried out.

If you have some advice for me I would welcome and wholly appreciate it.

Thank You

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

One of the biggest causes of being unable to hear with a stethoscope is simple: People watch too much telly.

Let me explain. At least in US medical dramas, all the people using stethoscopes have the tips of the earpieces pointed backwards.

Your ear canals run posterior-to-anterior. I'll bet you will find that if you grip the metal parts and rotate them slightly so the holes in the ear buds point towards the tip of your nose when you put them into your ears, you'll hear a lot better. Let me know how that works. Yes, it really is that simple.