EarCheck: a must-have for every parent

One of my mother's catch phrases growing up was, "if I had a nickel for every ear infection Whitney had, I'd be a millionaire by now," because unfortunately for me, I seemed to always be suffering from one.

So I'm always on the look-out for my son and so far so good - I don't think he's had more than his "average" share of ear infections. To be safe, I now own an EarCheck, something my mother probably would have loved to own.

The EarCheck is a nifty little device that will tell you within seconds whether or not your child has an ear infection. It can be used from 6 months through adult hood. Using some kind of sound wave technology (my husband and I tested it out on each other, it makes a small noise as you press the button) it measures the level of fluid and returns results anywhere from a Level 1 -normal - to a Level 5 - call the doctor.

For me, this is great as it eliminates those visits to the doctor when I "suspected" my son had an ear infection but did not.

It's very easy to use. I have to note, it was much easier for my husband and I to use it on each other as it was my son. We had to do some shifting around with his ear lobe to get it inserted correctly (it inserts much more easily into an adult ear, given that it's bigger.)

You can buy the EarCheck on either the EarCheck site (they have daily discounts and coupons so check for today's), it sells for $49.95 there; or on Drugstore.com for $49.49 with free shipping.