[PedsEDRN]

I have a new onset hearing loss, and I am looking for all the choices that would be available to help me hear with a stethoscope.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, sure have. I purchased the Littmann 4000 Electronic stethoscope a couple of years ago for veterinary work, and find that it works well. My hearing loss is about 40db across the entire range. The thing people mostly comment on when using it is that lung sounds are a lot clearer than with acoustic stethoscopes. It takes practice to use, as the sound is quite different from normal stethoscopes. However, this is aided to some degree by the ability to record sounds fairly easily, and to upload to computer via infrared. These can be stored on computer and played back using the stethoscope and the sound played back is exactly the same as the sound actually heard, so can be used to self-teach to some degree. Anyway, it is quite a neat little unit, I do recommend it. Unfortunately, I can't comment about the other E-stethoscopes out there because I haven't used them myself. If you want any further info about from me, you can email me at corrie_croton@hotmail.com

[Anonymous]

Yes, I purchased an electronic stethoscope this year. It is called an E-Scope II manfactured by Cardionics. Originally created for severely impaired it comes in two models. One model allows the user to plug it into their hearing aide. The other model (the one I have) looks like a regular stethoscope. It is the only one I found that comes with a pediatric bell, which is something I needed because I work in pediatrics. Both models will also accomodate regular size ear phones, and both can be plugged into a handheld PDA for graphic display and recording. I now hear sounds exactly the way they sound on those training tapes for heart & lung sounds. The volume is adjustable and it turns off automatically after 2 minutes to save battery life. The cost was less than the Lippincott. My fellow nurses think it's very cool.