Generally, when it comes to listening to music on the go, people tend to choose between wired and Bluetooth headphones , depending on what best suits their needs. Neither is perfect, as they have features you should be aware of, such as range , or if you want to optimize them, you need to know how to reduce lag . However, bone conduction headphones are a great alternative with many benefits.
If this is your first time reading about bone conduction headphones and you don’t understand what we mean, don’t worry, because we’ve prepared this post to tell you everything about them, including what they are, how they actually work, and much more.
- WHAT are bone conduction headphones
- How bone conduction headphones work
- Advantages of bone conduction headphones
- Why bone conduction headphones are ideal for sports
WHAT are bone conduction headphones
Bone conduction headphones are a great option for listening to music and making calls.
It’s important to note that bone conduction headphones are different from traditional headphones that you usually wear inside or over your ears. Bone conduction models transmit audio through contact pads that sit directly in front of the ears and emit vibrations through the cheekbones of the lower ear.
This way you can listen to calls and music without worrying about blocking your ear canals. In other words, these are special headphones that send sound waves through your skull instead of through your eardrum , like most. Some refer to this technology as revolutionary, as it makes music “magically” appear in your head.
How bone conduction headphones work
Bone conduction headphones work in a peculiar and very interesting way
If you want to know how these headphones work, you should know that the process is very simple. The ear cushions of these headphones incorporate transducers that generate vibrations, which are then transmitted to the facial bones, specifically the cheekbones that are connected to your cochlea. These vibrations are then converted into sound signals, which the brain encodes as audio, just as it would with traditional hearing.
Or, as we mentioned earlier, they work by sending audio signals as vibrations to the cochlea instead of the ear canals, like most headphones on the market, which are traditional.
Advantages of bone conduction headphones
These are very interesting headphones that, due to their design and functionality, offer exclusive benefits.
If you’re wondering whether these headphones are right for you, the first thing you should know is the advantages they offer due to their unique functionality.
On the one hand, because of the way they work and the fact that they don’t block the ear canals, you don’t lose the ability to hear the ambient noise around you, which will make you aware at all times of what is happening and allow you to preserve your safety , since sometimes accidents during physical activity can occur because you stop hearing what is around you.
But that’s not all, since people who have lost their hearing partially or totally can still perceive the audio from these bone conduction headphones, as the sound is emitted as vibrations and not through the ear canal.
Bone conduction headphones are also very comfortable to use, as they don’t block your ear canal or cause ear fatigue . Plus, they still allow you to hear conversations and announcements around you.
Why bone conduction headphones are ideal for sports
Bone conduction headphones are also a great option for exercising
If you practice any sport or do outdoor exercise and physical activity , you may be wondering if these headphone models are ideal for you, and the answer is yes.
On the one hand, these bone conduction headphones preserve your spatial awareness at all times, so you’ll always be able to hear traffic, animals, and people nearby. Not to mention that these devices position themselves very well and stay securely in place during intense exercise without falling out.
An additional benefit is that sweat and exposure to the elements won’t damage the bone conduction headphones , nor will the audio quality be reduced during exercise. These are some of their most important advantages.