The Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer is very easy to use – it fits comfortably in my 5 month old’s ear, reads her temperature in one second, and has an illuminated screen which is very helpful when taking her temperature in the middle of the night in the dark. The illuminated screen is a key feature I especially like on this product as the current ear thermometer we use does not have this functionality. The Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer also stores up to 50 temperature readings.

Knowing that the most accurate temperature reading is obtained with a rectal thermometer, but not having the courage to use one on our darling baby girl, the temperature readings taken by the Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer appear to be as accurate as any ear thermometer can be. Along with the Kinsa, we took our child’s temperature with two other thermometers we have (another ear thermometer and a forehead scanning thermometer) to compare results and there was very little variance between the three thermometer readings.

Aesthetically, the Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer is very cute and I imagine very appealing to children who may object to getting their temperature taken, especially if they are not feeling well. It is designed to look like Elmo from Sesame Street, and you press on Elmo’s nose to take a temperature. Along with the temperature being displayed numerically, the screen will also display a happy face if your child’s temperature is normal, or a sad face if your child’s temperature is high. The instructions state that no ear probe covers are required. However, if you feel more comfortable using an ear probe cover, the Braun Thermoscan disposable probe covers also fit perfectly on the Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer.

The thermometer uses two AAA batteries, and also comes with a free app you can download onto your smartphone. The thermometer connects to your phone via Bluetooth, and allows you to set up separate profiles for each individual family member, store and track temperatures, record other symptoms such as a sore throat, runny nose, etc, and also offers guidance on what next steps to take (our daughter has not had a high temperature yet using this thermometer, so we have yet to see the guidance function being applied practically). You can even join a local group of Kinsa app users (if available in your area) and be notified of what possible colds and bugs are going around in your area – apparently strep throat is currently going around in our neighborhood! Your children can also view and hear Elmo on the app, he says comforting things once a reading is taken and recorded on the app, again making the temperature reading experience more enjoyable for your child.

The app is a wonderful feature, however, I initially had several problems syncing the thermometer and the phone, and after about ten minutes and numerous attempts I gave up. Later in the day I attempted again to sync the phone and the thermometer and finally succeeded and was able to utilize the app. The thermometer can also be used just on its own without syncing to your phone and using the app.

This is a very user friendly ear thermometer with advanced technological capabilities that is designed to bring comfort and a little amusement to a sick child who needs their temperature read. We will be getting a lot of use out of this thermometer.

You can find the Kinsa Smart Ear Thermometer for $59.99 on Amazon.