Mechanic's Stethoscope

I've got one like that which must be over 30 years old. Works ok but after more than a minute, you get a pain in your ears from the thing squeezing into your head. If I were to replace it, I might get an electronic one like this just for the earphones,

I've used the regular non-electronic stethoscope from Harbor Freight.. But an electronic one where you can turn the volume down to protect your hearing is awesome!!
 
I have two cheap ones - I think the first one came from Northern Tool and the other I bought at one of the auto parts store and they look the same, work the same. The look pretty much like the lisle.

The long screwdriver doesn't work for me, but my hearing isn't great.

+1 on they hurt your ears after a while. There not bent the right way.

That electronic one looks cool. Can't justify it, but when did that stop me!
 
The screwdriver trick works like a charm. Sometimes when I want to look fancy, I have a Steelman Engine Ear. Works well. Didn't cost too much.
 
Using a screwdriver pressed into your ear is a dumb idea with your head turned sideways poking around down in the engine compartment around spinning pulleys and belts. My stethoscope is one of the oldest tools I have from over 40 years ago for those reasons. I now also have a Steelman 6-channel electronic chassis ear with an amplifier and headphones. I bought it to chase down a suspension noise and with 4 microphones hooked up to the suspension I was able to track it down. It is so sensitive I could hear the ignition switch when I turned it. Good luck trying to track down a noise with a screwdriver while driving the car.
 
Using a screwdriver pressed into your ear is a dumb idea with your head turned sideways poking around down in the engine compartment around spinning pulleys and belts. My stethoscope is one of the oldest tools I have from over 40 years ago for those reasons. I now also have a Steelman 6-channel electronic chassis ear with an amplifier and headphones. I bought it to chase down a suspension noise and with 4 microphones hooked up to the suspension I was able to track it down. It is so sensitive I could hear the ignition switch when I turned it. Good luck trying to track down a noise with a screwdriver while driving the car.

Try placing the screwdriver on a spot then fixating your ear to the end of the screwdriver. It might be smarter and safer. 🤷‍♂️

Just my $0.02
 
I have the Lisle. It works well enough, and far better than a screwdriver. I don’t hear much with a screwdriver, I hear a lot with the Lisle.

That said, my hearing isn’t very good (too many years on the flight deck of a carrier) so, perhaps a screwdriver would be good enough for other folks, but it doesn’t help me much at all.
 
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