Until someone walks off with it.
Untill a doctor borrows it.
My pops gave me his first stethoscope when I graduated. It’s a 35 year old Littmann. You can replace parts and send them in for tune-ups. :)
I still have the Master Cardiology Stethoscope that I bought and have used full time from 1987 to present. Direct patient care 35 years and counting. Try not to keep any stethoscope of value in extreme temperatures, like leaving it in the car. Also, NEVER PUT IT DOWN. LOL
Still using my sthoscope from nursing school 44 years ago.
Get a Littmann. They last and the Littmann company will repair.
I still have the same stethoscope that I bought when I began nursing school 10 years ago. It’s a forest green Littman cost me $100 and it still works just as well as it did the first day I bought it.
You can get cute AirTag holder for your stethoscope. Makes it easier to find!
It lasts as long as doctors want it to last once they swipe it its game over.
the scrub shops care a cloth cover for the tubing. I use an old ratty looking one so everyone thinks I have a crappy stethoscope...they don't' take it!!
I’ve been a nurse for almost 11yrs and been through 3 lightweight littmans. Every single time it was bc someone stole it! 🫠
I have had the same one since I graduated from
Nursing school in 2001. It was used heavily until 2016 and has been sitting mostly unused in my closet since then. When I picked it up recently (going back to patient care) I noticed it was getting stiff but still sounds good. It’s a Littman Cardiology.
I've had my current one for 7 years. I bought a bat wing holder at the same time. It clips onto my pocket so I don't have oils and sweat from my body on it. That way it will last longer.
Don’t hang it on your rear view mirror
I have 3 that are more than 30 years old. One was only used in nursing school, but the other two I used throughout my nursing career. Both are Master Cardiac 3's; one I had to replace the tubing as I always kept it around my neck and the oils from my skin eventually caused it to crack. The other I had to replace the diaphragm as it became brittle and cracked. They are outstanding and I would recommend them to anyone. Yes they are expensive, but again, they have lasted more than 30 years.
Until it walks away!🤓
I have had my stethoscope for 25 years lol. Just recently I noticed a crack in the tubing. I am retiring it and I am placing it in a shadowbox with other Nurse paraphernalia from my travels and my life as a nurse. I currently have an echo, which was the best investment I’ve ever made I love it.
I have an ultrascope. It was like $30 15 years ago with a lifetime warranty. I have replaced every piece of it except the bell and all I had to do was pay shipping for the parts. Working home health was the worst on my stethoscope due to change in temperature constantly. This caused the tubing color to change and it was starting to dry rot.
Keep it around your neck at all times, can last almost forever (Littmann Cardiology)
Never leave it in the car if you live in a cold environment, it will crack and never work again. Make sure your name is in it. Put several name devices on it and gorilla glue, they won’t like that. After your shift don’t throw it in your bag. Try and buy a cushioned make- up bag to store it. The more you take care of it the longer it will last. I have an EKO and I never take it off. It cost we a lot of money and I don’t have 3-400.00 to burn. I’ve always been ER/ICU so it’s with me all the time. You could also look up Kohala clip which clips to your pants and hold your stethoscope securely. Hope this helps you. 😊
My Littman lasted about 10 years before it got stiff (wearing it around my neck kept it from growing legs). I replaced the hose, stopped wearing it around my neck and within a few weeks it was gone.
It out lasted my neck by 25 years. Been nigh on 30 years...the thought of putting my stethoscope on my neck brings back a lot of pain..😪
I’m in my third this year, so yes, as long as you can keep it off the hands or others. :)
You mean before you lose it? The longest I’ve had a stethoscope is 8 hours then it becomes a shared and then it disappears.
I put a Tile on mine so I can ring it on my phone. An Apple AirTag might do the same thing but not sure how you would attach it. Mine has a hole in the corner that fits perfectly. They tend to grow legs n walk away and got tired of replacing them!
I’ve had my littman cardiology for 4 years. I also have an amplifying stethoscope I’ve only had for 2 years. I HAD another amplifying one BEFORE that until someone walked off with in when I was in an isolation room 😒😒. RUDE 😂
I graduated in 1980 and my dad gave me a littman stethoscope as part of my grad gift and I always carried it in my pocket , I still have it and still use it in my practice. Until now - while my staff have had theirs replaced numerous times that I have noticed !
Probably longer than you. You might just need to order replacement tubing or diaphragm parts. Get an off the wall color and have it engraved to avoid having it walk off. I wonder if someone makes an AirTag holder for stethoscopes?
Until I lose it. That’s the only reason I’ve had to replace it. .
Over 50 years
My Neonatal Littman is still perfect after 29 year. However I am showing my age.
5 yers
5 years
I suppose it depends on the stethoscope, what you use it for, and how much you use it. My littman cardio 4 lasted me about 5 years- but I didn’t use it heavily the first year. Then I used it every single day and it was always around my neck- until the tube started cracking. BUT I also didn’t take it in from my car- some of the other nurses this happened to too- and we tend to think it’s because of the winter cold. I lost the diaphragm cover a year prior to that and just replaced it. You could in theory just replace the littman parts forever I guess since they have replacement tubes and all that.
I've had mine since I graduated nursing school in 2009, I've replaced the ear cushions once and the diaphragm cover thing once. The stethoscope itself is fine. Its a litman.
OK... if you don't lose it, it will likely start failing in you if you don't take care of it. I kept my $130 Litman in a storage unit in Arizona for over a year, and the heat ruined it. Can't hear a darn thing. It's already 16 years old. It worked really well for about 14 years.
I still have all of mine.
My trick: I ask for the doctors car keys as trade and give them my stethoscope. They'll never leave the unit or hospital without finding me and giving me my stethoscope back :)
Mine broke in half after I left it hanging on my rear view mirror in Texas during one summer on my way home from work. It lasted me 7 years doing the same in Chicago area.
😂
Mine is 21 yrs old it was gifted to me by my cousin when I started nursing school and I still have it and use it every day .
Mine lasted 12 years....then it cracked in the middle from always hanging behind my neck.
My Litman has lasted 25 years and going heavily used. Best investment -
❌🚫🛑When a physician ask for to borrowing my stethoscope… Politely I reply
“ I’m so sorry but I don’t this is a good idea! I have some bad OTITIS!!!!”
I’ve been tired to chase the doctors that borrow my expensive stethoscope and “always” forget to return it
Depends on if dog gets ahold of it. Honestly mine have lasted 5 yrs depends on how being used general wear and tear.
Nhi pta
Mine usually last three years before they’re stolen. I now buy only adscope/ADC stethoscopes. They’re the same quality as Littman but about half the cost AND they have a lifetime warranty. If your tubing is stiff, send it in. Missing the ear tips or your diaphragm is falling off? They’ll send you new ones. I don’t know how people can perpetuate the virtues of Littman scopes…
My Littmann lasted 30 yrs but eventually the plastic sleeve around the bell crumbled & rendered it useless.
Until you find a cooler one. $$$ go Big you'll be amazed.
Forever? My Littman stethoscope is 23 years old.It was gifted to me when I got into the nursing program. I had to recently replace the bell cover but it is going strong. It has traveled with me on many overseas service trips. It almost walked off my unit but I have my name engraved on it so it came back to me after a few days.
Not very long if you work at my hospital. Kleptomaniac doctors.
Yep....that's right. If you don't leave it unattended someplace you'll have it for a long time. I lost a Littman Cardio 2 that got lifted from a LOCKED med room by a fellow RN.
You’ll prob lose it before anything happens to it. Luckily I still have my first expensive-ish MDF bought in 2012 and only had to replace the ear pieces.
Forever! I have an Ultrascope that comes with FREE lifetime part replacement. Ive replaced the ears 3 times and tubing twice. Customer service is always awesome.
when its gone you either join the cycling of stethoscopes or you buy a new one might be for a week or 30 yrs.
Take really good care of it. Never ever leave in your car with cold weather as it will crack and break. By yourself a special small insulated bag to put it in. Put as many name tags on your stethoscope. It was not so much my stethoscope that walked it was always my pens.
31years RN
Utill its lost or stolen lol no really im tellibg the truth
My parents gave me a Littman when I first graduated in 2011. It lasted about 9 years and one day it literally broke in half! I then got an MDF brand; it was okay—good length but it’s on the heavy side. Now I bought myself an ADC brand and love it so far—lightweight and picks up sounds so much better.
10 years
I still have the one I used in school and the baby one I used in the NICU: 20 + years! If you still have your school one, keep it for good luck
Use pledge furniture spray on the tube ! It works well.
about 2 year
My Littmann Cardiology is 23 yrs old, run over when I was working on the ambulance. Rebuilt and still going strong!
Yes, the answer is a good one, but I must also add that (unfortunately) there are fellow nurses out there who will also take your stethoscope, especially if you are a traveler and they can use it freely once you are gone. I had a beautiful Littman Cardio 2 and one day while I was cleaning up the med room, I hung it on the back of the med room door. At end of shift I walked out to my car and realized I had left it. I immediately went back inside and it was already gone. I was very upset and HURT that one of the people who I had been working side-by-side with, coaching, teaching, and encouraging for 3 months would do such a thing. The next time my contract came up for renewal I declined to extend. When the administrator asked why, I told him that I no longer cared to work in that kind of environment and that the experience caused me to feel differently about my coworkers....it literally changed who I was and I didn't want to be there anymore.
I have been told that very few nurses don't have a stethoscope stolen at some point in their career and it's not that big a deal. Sorry, but after giving them the very best of me through TWO tough surveys I felt that I deserved better.
Same!!! Until someone walks off with it! Lol
I still have original from graduation in 1985. However, it went from being pink to a faded orange-yellow due to age. So needless to say, I have recently replaced it. Haha1
Littmann is the way to go.
It depends on how much you use it. The tubing wears out and gets stiff, but you can replace just the tubing if you have a quality stethoscope.
a loooong time, I had one that lasted my whole LVN career and got a new one when I started my RN program.. unless you slam between your car and trunk after a home care visit.. then not so long, from experience I don't recommend doing this. It was my new one too :(
16 years and going strong… Littman
I bought a Littman and had mine engraved. That decreased the likelihood of someone trying to take it as theirs.
Indeed the absolute truth and you may not see them again! If you do, they have amnesia, especially if it your nice “cardio”. 🤗
I have one that is 20 years old...my BP cuff didn't last but that scope intends to outlive me .
someone broke in my car and stole it and my glasses a while back. If not, should be for a very long time
mine has always lasted just past the 10 year warranty!
Typically depends on how you handle it .
