Every single day we hear about bone conduction and it seems like it will never stop. The hype around this term “bone conduction” begun in 2010 when it was first mentioned with the announcement of the Bluetooth ORB.
Today, bone conduction is connected with numerous products including some hearing aids and high-end headphones. And the good thing is that the popularity will continue to increase.
An alternative to bone conduction is the so called in-ear conduction. However this doesn’t really tell you how they work. So, it would be the best to start from scratch. Once you understand the principle, everything would look different.
Bone conduction in simple terms is sending sound through the bones of the skull to the inner ear. It’s not that difficult to understand. Every time we open our mouth and speak bone conduction happens. When we speak, the sound is picked up by our skull bones before it leaves the mouth and then it is conducted to the inner ear. This is the reason why we don’t like our voice when we hear it on recordings. It simply sounds higher when we listen to it from another source. The sound transferred through bone conduction is deeper and fuller.
As we all know, the sound is transmitted in waves. Now, when the sound reaches the eardrum, it is turns into multiple vibrations. So, when the sound enters the ear is is directed further through the ear thanks to the cartilage and then to the ear drum. The ear drum then vibrates depending on the sound. After that, the vibrations are turned into electrical signals by the cochlea and the brain receives them as sound. This is how hearing works. On the other hand, bone conduction works a bit differently. It transfers the vibrations directly to the cochlea through the bones of the skull and avoids everything in between. This leaves the ear drums open to the surrounding sounds.
There are numerous advantages of the bone conduction headphones. The first thing is that over ear and in-ear headset is not required. The, when you listen to your music, you stay aware of the environment. Having something in your ear can be a bit uncomfortable. This is not the case with bone conduction headphones. People who have problems with their hearing abilities can still use this type of headphones. Even people who have to use earplugs for some reason can also use them. This is possible because the upper and outer ears are bypassed. There are people who hve the problem of hearing other people, while they hear themselves perfectly. A bone conduction headset will work perfectly for this.
Although we have mentioned the advantages of bone conduction headphones, they are not that perfect and have some disadvantages. For example, they need more power when you compare them with normal headphones. They offer a smaller number of frequencies and from time to time you can experience crosstalk.
As you can see, there are some disadvantages as well, but the popularity of bone conduction headphones doesn’t fade. They are still more popular than normal headphones.
If you work in a crowded and busy area, or have some hearing problems, we can say that investing in a good pair of bone conduction headphones is a good idea. It is expected their price to be much lower in the next couple of years, so if you can’t afford them now, you will surely have the chance to buy one soon. If you keep in mind that according to some recent studies, bone conduction headphones don’t affect your hearing negatively, this investment is more than welcome. This is especially important if you like listening to music with your volume to the max.
Still not sure whether you want to buy bone conduction headphones? We have to mention that the price range varies from $30 to $200. Of course the price here depends on the quality, but we are sure you will find the perfect quality for your money.
