The Otolaryngologist’s Mirror

Oh, hello! Um, what was I talking about? No, I wasn’t sneakily getting high off my Kritzkrieg… Ah, the Otolaryngologist’s Mirror. One of my favourite hats. I love it so much, I own an unusual version of it. But it’s always surprised me that so people like it. I always assumed it was something along the lines of it being old or something, but I just don’t know. Oh well, at least I don’t need to offer my first-born for an unusual one…

Alright, before we start, let’s get this out of the way. Otolaryngologist is not hard to pronounce. It’s pronounced oʊtoʊˌlɑːrɪnˈgɔːloʊˈdʒɪst. And Mirror? If you can’t pronounce that, what are you doing here? An Otolaryngologist is an ear and throat doctor. There’s a longer word, Otorhinolaryngologist, which includes the word ‘rhino’, meaning nose, too, but that bit’s often cut out because Otolaryngology is a long enough word as it is. Or we could just be pedantic and call them ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctors instead.

With that out of the way, let’s look at the head gear itself. It’s an incredibly simple hat, consisting of a rubbery band and the mirror. And that’s pretty much it. It’s a simple, clean looking hat. And it fits everyone’s favourite German doctor perfectly. Maybe that’s why people don’t like it… The Otolaryngologist’s Mirror is too Doctor-y.

That’s probably not the reason at all. The Otolaryngologist’s Mirror can’t be painted. It can be unboxed as an unusual, but it can’t be painted. The Otolaryngologist’s Mirror will apparently be available in Genuine quality when that Medic action figure comes out, but that’s more a rumour than anything else. I really do want an action figure of myself though. That’d be awesome.

Anyway, before I get distracted about those action figures and rant about how shipping to Cyprus is horrible, let’s look at some other things related to the Otolaryngologist’s Mirror. It’s a really old hat, released in the Classless Update in August 2009. If Valve were going to retire the next set of hats, the Otolaryngologist would probably be included. Well, either that or the far more popular Vintage Tyrolean. That’s how old it is. Only the beloved Prussian Pickelhaube is older.

“So, what can I wear with my Oto…whatever it’s called?” you ask. Oh, all sorts. Personally, I like to keep it mostly vanilla, as the Mirror on its own looks dandy. The Procedure Mask looks amazing with it. The Surgeon’s Stethoscope is also a good cosmetic to wear, as it matches the Doctor theme. The Surgeon’s Side Satchel is also a pretty good misc item. All these items are paintable, but in their default colours, they still look nice.

On top of all that, the Otolaryngologist’s Mirror is a cheap hat. Really cheap. You can get one for a refined. Plus, it’s nice to have such an old hat in your inventory, even if you never wear it. And worst case scenario? At least you know how to pronounce it now.