I dug out an old (20+ years?) in-the-ear thermometer the other day. It was dead but I happened to have a fresh battery and once I put that in it appeared to be functioning. I was able to find the original instructions online so I have been following them to a “t.” (Includes pulling one’s ear up and back so you can seat it deeper in the canal).
My first test result was about 95. My second was a little less. And so on. Must be broken, right? But when my spouse uses it her result is consistently in the 98-99 range. What gives? Should I trust it? Can a “healthy” person run that “cold?” If so, say my number increases to 98.6. Does that mean I have a fever?!?
Since you get a traditional reading on your wife, the thermometer is working.
You’ve established a baseline for yourself (possibly ear wax affected), so yes, 98.6 would mean you are quite sick (and I imagine you would know that without taking your temperature). If you called a doctor about it, I would report a 101 fever, since you are +/- three degrees over your ‘normal’.
I ran into the same issue on my in-the-ear thermometer. Then ran into problems with my older mercury thermometer, which the fine people here helped me with. Thanks again to ftg.
My in-the-ear thermometer reads 95 most days. Apparently, the digitals do go bad with age. Good luck finding a replacement currently.
I think we’re both stuck with thermometers that are no longer accurate. Does your wife feel warm BTW? It is possible she is running a low fever.
I ran the same test with my wife with our Braun and we both read low. While this Braun use to be reliable, it appears the in the ear style is not really recommended at this point.
Also a build up of Ear Wax could be a culprit.
Mine is so old, I can’t find useful troubleshooting for it. We think it is 23 years old now.