Features to consider before buying a good stethoscope
Everyone is familiar with what a stethoscope is. It is the tool which is used by almost all doctors. They use it to diagnose the health irregularities in our body, with the sound they detect. It is primarily used to check the sounds of the lungs and heart.
Since it is such an essential tool for doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, it is necessary to choose the right stethoscope while buying.
In this post, we have mentioned different parts of a stethoscope, so that you will know which products or brands to buy, as per your specific requirements.
Ear tips
This part comes inserted into the user’s ear. They can listen to the sound coming from chest-piece. Ear tips are designed from soft and flexible silicone or rubber material, to form a fitting seal within the ears, to keep unwanted sounds outside. The user can replace ear tips to enhance the sound quality.
Ear tube
Metal or steel parts that connect ear tips and PVC or synthetic tubing, which is, in turn, are attached to the chest-piece stem. Ear tubes help to separate sounds in left and right channels coming from the tubing line, to offer better incoming sound experience [with less quality loss]. Ear tubes of the best stethoscope are made from quality metal, to maintain the clarity of sound as it transfers.
Tubing
It is a soft and flexible line in a stethoscope that allows transfer and frequency level maintenance of sound. The diaphragm or bell captures the sounds and sends to ear tubes from where it flows to the user’s ears. The tubing may include a dual lumen tube or single tube design, which connects metal or steel ear tubes.
Headset
It is a combination of different parts of the upper half including ear tips, tension springs, and ear tubes. All these components are aligned to ideally fit into the user’s ears, to offer maximum sound quality via headsets. You will notice that headset ear tips are pointed towards the user’s nose, while tubes slightly hang back. It helps the sound flow to ear canals smoothly, with minimal disturbance.
Stem
Metal part, which connects stethoscope tubing to chest-piece is the stem. Besides connecting both components, it helps the user to switch between chest-pieces bell and diaphragm, via ball bearing.
Chest-piece
It includes stem, diaphragm or/and bell. It may feature dual head or single head design, which may or may not involve the low-frequency bell. It is used to hear the sound of heartbeats by placing the bell or diaphragm end on the patient’s chest, stomach, and back. Stronger and premium quality stethoscopes are capable of picking sounds even through clothing.
Diaphragm
It is a sizeable secured end of chest-piece. It helps to pick high-frequency sound from patient’s more extensive areas than the bell.
Bell
They are a small circular end of the chest-piece used for detecting a narrow range of low-frequency sounds, which the diaphragm is unable to identify.
What are the features of the excellent stethoscope?
Acoustic
This type of stethoscope is designed to listen to sound from pulse, fluid, or intestinal gas. Everyone’s hearing capabilities differ, so make sure to find one that suits your hearing abilities.
Comfort
The stethoscope will always be hanging around the neck, when on-duty. Therefore, it should ideally be of light-weight, so that it is easy to handle. Earpiece must not be harsh to the ears, and tubes should never be stiff and short.
Material
Materials must be durable and of top quality, so that they do not affect the acoustic and weight of the stethoscope.
The stethoscope that you choose will depend on the type of patients you check, an environment where you are working, and your budget. A good stethoscope is an investment for your career growth, so protect it and keep it clean.
