Never underestimate a stethoscope! Having your best stethoscope for nurses around your neck is vital for your day-to-day tasks. All manner of healthcare workers use stethoscopes including nurses, not just doctors. A long-lasting and durable stethoscope isn’t cheap, however, so you need to carefully check out all your options to find a stethoscope that can be relied on and fits your budget.
To help make the search for a reliable and professional stethoscope a little easier, we’ve researched and tested the top 10 best stethoscopes for nurses in 2021.
All the stethoscopes on our list are used and recommended by real nurses!
The 3 Best Stethoscopes for Nurses
Best Overall, 3M Littmann Classic II S.E., for a decent price range, dual heads, and a high level of quality and durability that nurses love.
Best Cheap, Prestige Medical Sprague-Rappaport Stethoscope, for a very low price but still basic functionality that you can rely on.
Best Digital/Electronic, 3M Littmann CORE Digital Stethoscope, for smartphone/tablet integration and next-level technology from your stethoscope.
How We Selected Each Stethoscope for Nurses
To start, we contacted nurses and healthcare professionals to ask what stethoscopes they use and what they recommend. Once we had a full list of all the different tried-and-tested models, we ranked them to find the top 10.
Here are the criteria we used to find the best stethoscope for nurses:
Comfort
We wanted to know how the stethoscope would feel when it’s being used. You need to concentrate, not worry about how it hurts your ears. Comfort also includes weight – lightweight stethoscopes are more desirable, as you will feel a heavy stethoscope weighing down your neck when you wear it on the ward all day or night.
Comfort needs to be balanced with quality, however. Often, higher quality materials weigh more.
Quality
The separate components of the stethoscope should all be of high quality, to ensure that they’re durable and reliable. The last thing you want is for your stethoscope to break mid-shift! Ensuring the tube is crack-resistant and the chest piece is made from stainless-steel rather than an alloy, are good criteria to help you find a high-quality stethoscope.
Acoustics
The sounds should be amplified, clear, and crisp. We checked each stethoscope and picked those that had the best acoustics. After all, this is the purpose of the stethoscope so it’s easily the most important criteria to check.
Warranties and Guarantees
As mentioned, professional and high-quality stethoscopes aren’t cheap, so it makes sense to protect your stethoscope. Although not a deal-breaker, we preferred brands that offered a warranty or guarantee about the life or quality of the stethoscope.
This is another good sign of quality to look out for.
To learn more about the specific components of a stethoscope and what you should be looking for, scroll down to read our stethoscope buyer’s guide.
The Best Stethoscope for Nurses List
Here we go! All ten of the stethoscopes on our list have been tried and tested by real nurses. Remember to read our buyer’s guide if you decide to find your stethoscope beyond our list.
3M Littmann Classic II S.E. -Best Overall
- Type: Dual-head acoustic
- Tube Length: 28-inch
- Price Range: $$
- Guarantees: 3-year warranty
The best overall has to be the 3M Littmann Classic II S.E. because so many nurses love it. It has that perfect balance between being expensive and professional, while still being quite lightweight. If you want the ultimate, every-day stethoscope, we recommend this one.
The Classic II S.E. is a dual-head acoustic stethoscope with 28 inches of tubing. The diaphragm and bell are made from stainless steel but have a latex-free no chill rim, so you won’t make your patients jump with a cold stethoscope. The diaphragm diameter is 1.75 inches, so this is suitable for adult patients rather than kids and infants.
The overall weight of the stethoscope is 10.6 ounces, which is medium-light. If you need a lightweight stethoscope, Littmann offers a lightweight range. However, some nurses find the lightweight options significantly reduce acoustics, which is why they’re much further down this list.
We like that it’s available in 6 colors and 2 finishes.
Nurses love it because: it’s reliable, affordable, and it’s not called a ‘classic’ for nothing! It’s the most voted for stethoscope on Reddit by nurses.
Prestige Medical Sprague-Rappaport Stethoscope: Best Cheap
- Type: dual-head acoustic Sprague-Rappaport
- Tube Length: 30-inch (overall)
- Price Range: $
- Guarantees: none
This is the cheapest stethoscope on our list, so adjust your expectations accordingly. But despite being cheap and quite low-quality, it still has a good reputation from nurses online. One nurse commented on Reddit:
“I float to different units a lot and my stuff gets borrowed and misplaced. So, I buy the $13 Prestige ones from Amazon. I hear just fine with them.”
This just sums up the Prestige Medical Sprague-Rappaport Stethoscope. It works just fine, but it’s not great. For checking vitals, it does the job, but don’t expect it to provide a clear enough sound to do any real diagnostics.
Nonetheless, for a new nurse who wants to get used to feeling a stethoscope around their neck and feel comfortable using one, it’s a good choice. If your stethoscopes are frequently misplaced or stolen, you can easily buy 10 of these stethoscopes to stock up without breaking the bank.
Nurses love it because: it’s incredibly cheap, so if your stethoscope gets “lost” frequently this is a good option… or even a good decoy for your sneaky colleagues!
3M Littmann CORE Digital Stethoscope: Best Digital/Electronic
- Type: Digital acoustic dual head
- Tube Length: 27-inch
- Price Range: $$$
- Guarantees: 2-year manufacturer’s warranty
The 3M Littmann CORE Digital stethoscope does everything you need. It can be a basic, acoustic stethoscope that joins you on the wards as you make your rounds. But thanks to the digital integration with EKO software, it does so much more.
Once you’ve charged it and hooked it up to your smartphone, you can use the EKO PCG to monitor heart rate and view heart sound waveforms. This makes it an amazing stethoscope for cardiologists.
Other features of the CORE Digital include up to 40x amplification, so you’ll be able to clearly hear every breath, beat, and crackle. If you can’t get along with this feature, you can switch back to analog easily too.
Finally, the comfortable ear tips (interchangeable so you can find ones that fit best) also have active noise cancellation so you can focus on listening even in the middle of a busy ward.
This stethoscope is one of the best available from Littmann, the most respected stethoscope brand for nurses.
Nurses love it because: it connects with EKO software to help you see heart sound waveforms and share them with your patients/colleagues.
3M Littmann Lightweight II S.E
- Type: Dual-head acoustic
- Tube Length: 28-inches
- Price Range: $
- Guarantees: Two-year warranty
At less than half the cost of the Littmann Classic series, the lightweight series is a good choice for nurses who want the Littmann quality guarantee without the heavy equipment. This model weighs approximately 3.52 ounces, which is roughly one-third of the weight of the Classic II S.E.!
Visually, it looks identical to the Classic range from Littmann. The tube is a generous 28 inches long and the angled ear tips feel just as comfortable in your ears, if not more comfortable due to the lighter weight.
This stethoscope is designed as an entry-level product, for new nurses and nurses still in training. It is good for taking blood pressure and general vitals, but not for diagnostic purposes.
Finally, the teardrop shape of the diaphragm and bell is designed to make it easier to fit under a blood pressure cuff without hurting your patient unnecessarily. We like that it is made in the USA from latex-free materials too!
Nurses love it because: it’s lightweight around your neck and on your wallet, being one of the cheapest stethoscopes by this well-known brand.
PARAMED Classic Dual Head Stethoscope
- Type: dual head acoustic
- Tube Length: 29.5-inch
- Price Range: $
- Guarantees: none
This stethoscope is from a less well-known brand, but there are still nurses that praise it even though the price is very low. This is almost a budget option, but it offers some features that you’d expect from a quality brand like Littmann.
The dual head is interchangeable and rotates 365°, there are two different-sized ear tips so you can find what’s comfortable for you, and there’s an extra diaphragm in the box for when you inevitably lose the first one!
Overall, nurses tend to be purchasing this stethoscope as a back-up. It’s best for nurses in training and taking vitals, rather than diagnosing and detecting precise sounds. The general feel of the stethoscope is not as high-quality as others on this list, but the range of features and low price still make it worth considering.
Nurses love it because: the tubing is extra-long, so you don’t need to crowd your patients as you use the stethoscope to listen.
3M Littmann Cardiology IV Stethoscope
- Type: Dual head acoustic
- Tube Length: 27-inch
- Price Range: $$
- Guarantees: 7-year promise
With a 7-year warranty, you know that Littmann means business! This stethoscope is designed to work effectively in intense situations – specifically for cardiologists as the name hints. The Cardiology IV stethoscope is not a huge amount more expensive than the Classic series, and yet it features some impressive upgrades.
The 27-inch tubed stethoscope with stainless steel head weighs 15.9 ounces, which is heavy but not going to weigh you down. In return for the mildly heavy weight, the chest piece is 40% larger and the bell is approximately 60% deeper than the Classic version. This provides much better performance. You can hear even the most subtle of noises and, according to Littmann, diagnose with confidence.
We like that one side of the chest piece is designed for pediatrics, so you don’t need to swap as you go from adult to child patients. All you need to do is flip over the stethoscope and remove the cover from the pediatric head.
Nurses love it because: it’s the kind of stethoscope that will last for decades, and even though it is expensive, nurses love that you can grow into it.
ADC 600ST ADSCOPE Stethoscope
- Type: single head acoustic
- Tube Length: 19-inch
- Price Range: $
- Guarantees: lifetime warranty
The ADC 600ST is a simple stethoscope model. Even though it has a double lumen design (read our buyers guide to find out why that’s advantageous) and only one head, without an additional bell, it still provides excellent acoustic.
You simply apply more or less pressure to change the frequencies you need to listen out for. But of course, you can’t switch the head for pediatric and infant stethoscope parts with this one, so it’s limited that way too.
The other problem with this stethoscope is that the tubing is only 19 inches long, which is short! Almost 10 inches shorter than some of the best-selling nurse stethoscopes. This makes wearing it around your neck a little awkward.
However, if you can get past those small faults, you’ll find that the performance of this stethoscope is amazing for the price. The acoustics are loud and clear, and you’ll find it comfortable to use.
Nurses love it because: the earpieces are reported to be particularly comfortable, so it’s popular with nurses who use their stethoscopes on and off all day long.
MDF Instruments MD ONE Adult Stethoscope
- Type: dual head acoustic
- Tube Length: 28-inch
- Price Range: $
- Guarantees: lifetime warranty
MDF is not well-known in the healthcare industry, compared to the likes of Littmann. Yet, when one nurse recommended them for our list, we discovered that MDF easily meets Littmann in terms of quality and durability.
This model, the MD ONE for adult patients, “delivers accurate auscultation of heart, lung and Korotkoff sounds with acoustics integrity and clarity” according to MDF. It is also designed ergonomically to stay comfortable even through extra-long shifts. Even though the headset is pre-angled, you do have some flexibility with adjustable tension thanks to the ErgonoMax headset.
We like that each model is available in three sizes, so if you like the MD ONE for adults, you can find the same stethoscope design but for infants and pediatric work too. And to top it all off, MDF’s Free-Parts-For-Life program will send out replacement ear tips, diaphragms, rings, and name tags whenever you need them.
Nurses love it because: with an extensive range of colors, patterns, and finishes (more than Littmann have available) it is really unlikely that someone will mistake your stethoscope for theirs.
MDF ProCardial Stainless Steel Adult Stethoscope
- Type: Dual-head acoustic
- Tube Length: 28-inch
- Price Range: $$
- Guarantees: lifetime warranty
This is one of the upgraded stethoscopes from MDF. The ProCardial is an improvement on the affordable MD One that also made our list. This model is more suited to cardiologists and more specific diagnostics too.
What got our attention is the swappable, screw-on chest pieces. Switch to a heavier head, use the pediatric diaphragm, or screw on the very tiny infant chest pieces for your smallest patients.
Furthermore, the bell components on this model are much more cone-shaped, to detect and amplify those very low-frequency heart acoustics that are difficult to find with a standard stethoscope. As you can imagine, however, the larger the stainless-steel head is, the heavier the stethoscope is overall. So, we recommend this particular stethoscope more for cardiologists and patient consultations rather than wearing it 24/7 as you make your way around the ward.
Nurses love it because: MDF has a free-parts-for-life guarantee. Many nurses who found that their Littmann stethoscope tubing split after just a few years have switched to MDF for this guarantee alone.
EKO Duo Stethoscope with AI Software
- Type: electronic single head
- Tube Length: N/A
- Price Range: $$$
- Guarantees: 2-year warranty, 30-day 100% refundable trial
This is a very new device, so there’s not a great deal of feedback from nurses yet. But we are sure excited about it!
The EKO Duo is both a digital stethoscope and an ECG. It is wireless and uses Bluetooth to connect your stethoscope with handheld devices. Importantly, it’s all FDA-cleared and the file storage and sharing features are HIPAA-compliant.
There are a lot of features to mention on the EKO Duo, but to highlight some of the best ones: phonocardiogram and electrocardiogram tracing in real-time, 15 to 120-second recordings, AI analysis to detect early-stage heart murmurs, and share everything easily with colleagues from the dashboard.
Just connect it to your smartphone device to get started.
Note that the 30-day trial where you can get a 100% refund if you don’t like it, is only available when you buy through the EKO official website.
Nurses love it because: it is both effective and helps them seem professional in front of patients, which boosts patient confidence in them and the entire healthcare team.
A Quick Guide to Nurses’ Stethoscopes
Looking to buy your first-ever stethoscope? No problem. Here is everything you need to know about different types of stethoscopes for nurses and how to keep them in tip-top shape.
Different Types of Stethoscopes
Generally, stethoscopes can be organized by the number of heads they have and their specific purpose.
Single Head
It’s pretty self-explanatory! A single head stethoscope just has one head. It’s perfect for general use in the ward and offers basic functions. It’s good for both high and low-frequency sounds, but for a more specific diagnosis and closer listening, you’re better off with a dual-head stethoscope.
Dual Head
The dual-head stethoscope has the diaphragm head for high frequencies and a bell for low frequencies, so it offers better acoustics for either type compared to the single head stethoscope.
Triple Head
As you’d expect, this stethoscope has three heads. Alongside detecting high and low frequencies accurately, the triple head stethoscope is best for cardiac assessment. It’s very heavy and quite expensive, so it’s best for specialists who only deal with cardiac diagnostics, rather than nurses.
Cardiology
Designed with the most precise, clear sound available. These can be the single or dual head (we recommend the latter) and are designed specifically for cardiologists to listen to and diagnose heart problems.
Pediatric
Smaller than your standard stethoscope, a pediatric stethoscope has a smaller head which is more appropriate for listening to your young patients. Remember to warm the diaphragm head and bell with your hands first!
Infant
For your youngest patients, infant stethoscopes offer the smallest head and tend to be the lightest too, which makes them most appropriate for use on infants.
Other Stethoscope Types to Consider
For walking around the ward and taking vitals as and when needed, the acoustic stethoscope is the best. It’s lightweight and accurate. But if you have the luxury of an office, for example, you might consider an electric stethoscope. These are much more precise at capturing a range of frequencies and have other useful functions like audio recording. The downside is, it’s not portable and it needs charging before it will work.
Stethoscope Anatomy
This is an image of a typical, dual head stethoscope.
Ear tips – these should fit comfortably in your ear canals and not feel too hard or heavy. You might need to adjust the angle they fit in your ears for optimum acoustics.
Aural tube – connects the ear tips to the tubing. On Sprague Rappaport stethoscopes, two tubes connect to the aural tube, one for each ear.
Tubing – the main tube that carries sound from the stethoscope head to your ears. It must be flexible and yet very durable. This part of the stethoscope gets a lot of wear, as it’s wrapped up, hung around your neck, and flexed regularly. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the typical material for this tubing. The best stethoscopes will contain a double-lumen within the tubing, rather than one lumen that’s split between two ears. Tubing is usually up to 28 inches long.
Stem – connects the head of the stethoscope to the tubing. Usually made of the same material as the head; stainless-steel or a metal alloy. Must be securely attached.
Diaphragm – the large, flat side of the stethoscope that’s best used for listening to high frequencies.
Bell – the cup side of the stethoscope head is called the bell, and it’s best used for listening to low frequencies.
How to Clean Your Stethoscope
Did you know that the PVC tubing will crack quicker, the more it’s exposed to human skin? That’s just one of the reasons why cleaning your stethoscope is so important, besides general good hygiene.
- Cleanse the head of the stethoscope with anti-bacterial wet wipes,
- Clean the earpieces and check for wear – they can be replaced easily,
- Wipe down the stethoscope tubing.
When it’s not in use, store your stethoscope in a cool and dark place. Some high-end professional stethoscopes will come with a storage box.
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