I love my bone conduction headphones.
I wear them when Im running so that I can hear traffic approaching.
I also love them for noisy environments where I put in earplugs.
So whats going on with this strange technology, and what are the downsides?
All of that is outside the scope of this article, though.
Were just interested in how the vibrations get from our headphones to the middle ear.)
Youll hear the music.
We actually hear bone-conducted sounds all the time.
Stick your fingers in your ears and speak out loud, and youll hear just the bone-conducted portion.
Bone conduction headphones take advantage of this phenomenon.
Like all headphones, they have tiny little speakers.
Are Shokz and other bone conduction headphones really conducting sound through bone?
Yes, they work through actual bone conduction, but notonlybone conduction.
Some of the sound gets transmitted through the air as well.
First, wear them normally.
The little speakers will be on the bony spot right in front of your ear.
Turn on some music.
The sound will be differenta bit deeper, is how I would describe it, but Im no audiophile.
It almost seems like it gets louder.
The headphones definitely dont need air-based access to your eardrums to get their sound through.
Is bone conduction safe for your ears?
Too-loud bone conduction headphones are bad for you, just like too-loud regular headphones.
There is one way that bone conduction headphones can bebetterfor your ears, as I hinted above.
Overall my ears are getting a lot less noise exposure, so thats a win-win.
What are the downsides of bone conduction headphones?
But in general, the upside of bone-conduction headphones is also their downside.
When I wear my Aftershokz with earplugs, I dont get great sound quality that way, either.
Personally, I find these minor downsides are balanced by the other advantages that bone conduction headphones provide.
