Tough Time Hearing Out of Littmann Lightweight

[j_tay1981]

I have several stethoscope that I bought off of eBay, and one perplexes me. It's a Littmann Lightweight SE in seafoam green. I swear I cannot hear out of it! I've got the diaphragm locked into position and 'turned on', plus the ear tips are going in the correct way (towards my nose) but I can hear better out of my $20 Prestige Sprague than the Littmann! Anybody else have problems with their Litty Lightweight?

[j_tay1981]

Nevermind. The more I played with it, the more comfortable I got with it. Weird. Anyways, no problems with it at all. I actually am beginning to appreciate the lightweight and sounds I can detect.

[MntnGirl]

I've actually been having problems with that exact model/color stethoscope. I can mildly hear breath sounds but am having a ridicolous time hearing heart sounds/apical pulse. I've tried adjusting my head in every which way with no success. I've ordered the smaller/hard ear pieces - currently have the large/soft ear pieces, I swear they get "suctioned" to my inner ears at times. I used a colleagues stethoscope to compare and was amazed at how well I could hear out of other stethoscope - what a struggle & waste of money. I just want a stethoscope that works - allows me to clearly hear heart, lungs, and bowels sounds. Boo this stethoscope - I can't be monkeying around trying to find my patients' heart. It's a waste of time, gets my patients worried that something is wrong, and makes me appear incompetent. That's my little vent/schpeel.

[j_tay1981]

I ended up selling this scope to a classmate who has been very happy with it. One thing that annoyed me about it is that I could hear the joints in my fingers creaking and popping when trying to auscultate (weird). I was more impressed with my cheap Omron Sprague by comparison. I know Littmann doesn't claim this is the most sensitive scope they offer but I thought it would at least beat a cheap Sprague-Rappaport!

Oh well - lesson learned!