Discrepancy with ear temperature

[MissEyreBronte]

Whatever happens I’ve ordered a Covid test online and we are self isolating, but just wondering what to do in this situation.
One of my ears gave a reading of 38.5, then a few mins later 37.7, then the other ear was 37.3 and 37 again.
Do I add these together and divide them by the amount of times I took my temp and then get the average that way? Or take the highest temp?

The first question would be did you have earphones in immediately before the first test?

What made you take your temperature? Were you feeling unwell? To be honest if I got a high reading and then a few minutes later it was down to normal I would think it was just a random thermometer anomaly unless I had other reasons to think I had a temperature.

Maybe you need a new thermometer?

Yes I’ve been feeling unwell, blocked up nose, sore throat, ear pain.

@StatisticalSense No, didn’t have earphones in

Had you been lying on one side? Or had a hot shower/ bath? Do you feel unwell or have reason to think that you have been exposed to anything?

@TW2013 yes I’ve got a sore throat, blocked nose and pain/pressure in ears

I do find different ears give different temperatures. Under normal circumstances I would probably leave it 10 mins and try again. In the current climate I would try to relax and enjoy a day or two recovering while you wait for CV test results. Unless it gets worse as earache can be awful and sometimes antibiotics can help.

But the temp can’t be higher than it is surely, so the lower ones would be the false results, potentially from not quite getting the thing in the correct place.