Mommy Review: Forehead vs. Ear Thermometers

Have you heard of Influenster? it's a website where you participate in market research and get to try (and keep) new products. I was actually pretty excited when I received the Braun Forehead Thermometer to test and review, because i'm a mom, and that's just how I roll these days.

I already own the Braun ear thermometer, so i've decided to compare the two for this review:

On the left, the new forehead thermometer, on the right, my trusty ear thermometer which has been part of our household for at least two years.

I tried both of these tonight on myself, my 5 year old, and my hubs.


















The most important feature of a thermometer is its ability to be accurate, right? so off my right temple and right ear:

Forehead Thermometer

Ear Thermometer

Both read 97.3 degrees.

I did the left temple and ear too, and got 97.5 with the forehead and 97.7 with the ear. Only a slight difference.

Other things I like about each:

1. The forehead thermometer has a backlight LED display, which is great for sneaking into dark kids rooms to take temperatures without turning on the lights to read it.

2. Speaking of sleeping kids, the forehead is a lot easier to get to when a kiddo is asleep.

3. The forehead thermometer doesn't require a cover to work, where the ear thermometer does. Generally not a problem, until you run out in the middle of the night and the thermometer doesn't work.

4. The forehead thermometer doesn't need a nifty case and ear cover holder like the ear version does, meaning I get more space in my medicine cabinet.

Things I dislike:

1. They both beep to signal they are done, which is cool up until you are trying to measure that sleepy sick kiddo's temp. Perhaps someday Braun will give us a little led system or the option to make the beeps really really quiet?

Overall, I like them both. My gut tells me the ear version is more accurate, but they came in so close, I am okay with the difference. They are both more accurate than going for the underarm method, in my opinion.

I will most likely choose the forehead version going forward. It will work better on my soon-to-arrive daughter, can be used on a sleeping five year old, can be read in the dark, and as my son says, it's just plain nifty.

p.s. I received this product complimentary from Influenster and Braun for purposes of review.