It seems that with every winter storm we’ve had this season a wave of sickness goes around friends, family and coworkers, from colds to the flu to bronchitis. If your family’s preferred illness always seems to be an ear infection, check out the EarCheck Middle Ear Monitor from Innovia Medical, LLC.
It looks like an ear thermometer and works in much the same way—place the EarCheck tip in your child’s outer ear canal, press the scan button and wait a few seconds for the reading. The monitor detects middle ear fluid, which is a key sign of an ear infection, by sending a chirping sound into the ear canal. It displays results based on a 1-5 color scale, with 1 (green) meaning Fluid/Ear Infection Unlikely and 3-5 (red) showing a high Likelihood of Fluid/Ear Infection. If your child gets a 3-5 rating, you should contact your doctor.
Since ear infections have been rare around the office so far (thank goodness), we haven’t really had the opportunity to try this product out. However, for those families who deal with ear infections on a regular basis, it could be worth a try to find out so easily whether you need to visit the doctor or not.
The EarCheck Middle Ear Monitor is recommended for kids 6 months and older and cannot be used on kids with ear tubes. It retails for $49-$59 and is available at Wal-Mart and Babies “R” Us locations as well as many online retailers. For more information go to www.earcheck.com.