Like every object above absolute zero, human skin emits infrared as an exponential function of its temperature. Measurement of the emitted infrared leads to a determination of the skin''s temperature. In static ambients, objects come to thermal equilibrium and their surface temperatures are determined by heat flow to the surface and heat losses from the surface. Heat flow to the skin is governed largely by local vascularities and the proximity of body organs exhibiting high metabolism. Losses are caused by evaporation, convection, conduction, and an excess of infrared emission over absorption. If losses are small, skin temperature approaches body temperature. Even in static ambients, exposed skin areas, such as the forehead, lose heat by radiation and stabilize at temperatures somewhere between that of the body and the surround. In the external auditory canal, losses by convection, conduction, and evaporation are minimal. Each canal wall area exchanges infrared radiation with an area similar to itself. In such a case, the skin temperature should approach body temperature. Instrumentation is described for measuring this temperature and evidence presented that it tracks closely that which is measured orally.