### Human:\ncan ear infections be passed from one child to another through ear thermometers if they are not cleaned properly?\n\n### Assistant: swimmer's ear (otitis externa) is a skin infection in the ear canal so it would be possible to pass germs from one person to the next but it would not be very likely. i have never seen it. as far as middle ear infections are concerned these cannot be transmitted to someone else by an ear thermometer (or anything else for that matter).