You are correct the best method of taking a pulse is with a small monitor that clips on to the ear lobe.
I am married to a medic whom has just informed me they have been taking pulses in hospitals for many years that way. I am also told it is highly unlikely if not impossible that the pulse felt on the earlobe could be heard because a pulse is silent and is the expansion of the artery that one feels when taking a pulse.
You can however hear a heart beat fairly easily by listening in the chest area.