This article is about how do bone conduction headphones work. Everyone knows about headphones in fact many of us are using them too. If you have bone conduction headphones or planning to purchase them then this article is for you to understand the working of these headphones.
By reading this complete article, you will be able to know about bone conduction headphones work. So keep engaged with us till the end of this article to get the answer to your query.
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work Differently From Other Headphones?
Bone conduction earbuds or headphones work differently than regular headphones. They use vibrations to transfer against bones so that sound waves can pass through the cochlea. However, when the waves pass through the bones, the eardrum entirely misses them.
This causes to get some hearing loss or hearing disabilities in bone conduction headphones. This incredibly challenging technology seems to be in wireless headphones but it is fascinating and innovative headphones. It started in the early 1500s and has a very interesting history.
How Does Cochlea Get The Vibration?
Sound waves travel through the air just like light waves. However, sound can travel to much denser mediums, unlike light. That’s why you can hear across the wall but not see light. Your ear starts picking up the sound through vibrations transferred to the eardrum.
An eardrum is a flat skin flap in the ears that starts vibrations after hearing sound and also cause other organs to vibrate in-ear. The cochlea is another important part in the ear that picked those vibrations that you will start hearing.
When the cochlea starts receiving the sound vibrations after the eardrum and other ear organs start vibrating, it passes those signals to the stereocilia. Then the stereocilia send them to the brain.
In short, the eardrum starts vibrating and the vibrations transfer is done by the cochlea along with the brain. But what do we do if we do not have vibrations in the eardrum? That’s why we have bone conduction.
What Does Bone Conduction Do?
This is the simplest topic that you can understand easily. The eardrum is the part where the vibrations start throughout your internal ear organs, however, we can not say that conducting those vibrations is necessary. Without these vibrations, the inner ear organs such as the ear canal and middle ear will remain static.
So the question is how can we pass these vibrations from the eardrum to other organs to start vibrating? To avoid this need, conduction of vibration can be done through bones instead of the eardrum.
Cochlea passes these vibrations the same as started by eardrums because it does not know the difference. The process begins the same as in the eardrums. The cochlea transfers the vibration to the brain. The sound will be registered in the brain same as the traditional headphones.
The key point to remember is instead of through the air, bone-conducting headphones transfer the sounds through the skull.
How Does AfterShokz Bone Conduction Work?
These bone conduction headphones transmit sound directly through the bones that are located in the upper jaw and cheeks to the inner ear by using vibration. You will hear the sound when your brain process the vibration.
In bone conduction headphones, you will also hear external sounds of the outside world while listening to the music. This will keep your ears open to listen to other sounds as well.
How Does Hearing Aids Use Bone Conduction?
The study of audiology caught public attention in 1940 and thus bone conduction starts using in practice to help people with diagnosing hearing disorders and also with supporting the hearing-impaired.
With this great achievement, bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHA hearing aids) were introduced in 1970. With this technology, the user can hear without the eardrum through bone conduction.
Are Bone Conduction Headphones Harmful For Ears?
Yes, bone conduction headphones equally damage the ear as the traditional headphones. There are many people who claim that the vibration does not pass through the eardrum, they are not harmful to the ears.
This is true however, here we are not only talking about eardrums. If you wear these headphones for a long time and listen with high volumes, then there are chances that cochlear will be affected.
How Is The Audio Quality Of Bone Conduction Headphones?
To be honest, the bone conduction headphones sound totally different than the traditional earbuds and headphones. We can not say that sound quality is bad or good because many people seem to like them and some don’t.
The sound in these headphones is muffled that’s why, Unlike traditional headphones, they have a slightly louder sound and thus do not give off the noise-canceling crisp edges that most modern headphones play.
If you are planning to buy bone conduction headphones then they are the best for situational awareness rather than wearing traditional headphones. However, there are a few downsides of these headphones that you can not enjoy music very well but can easily hear directly the external noise in the ear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the founder of Bone Conduction Technology?
Bone conduction technology is not something new. It was Gerolamo Cardano who realized that by placing a rod and spear between your teeth, you can be able to hear. This will keep your ears free from air conduction.
For what purpose we can use bone conduction?
It is totally an innovation in the field of hearing impairments and deaf communities. Its been very useful for the athletic community. These headphones allow you to hear during running, cycling, and outdoors.
You can easily hear surrounding sounds such as car noise and other disturbances on roads that help you to be more aware while crossing the roads. You can also use them for scuba diving, google classes, law enforcement, construction, and education.
Do bone conduction headphones really work?
These headphones work when the sound vibrations pass through the skull instead of air conduction.
Can deaf people hear music through bone conduction headphones?
People with conductive hearing loss can use to hear via bone conduction headphones
Conclusion
Bone conduction headphones bypass the eardrum and the inner ear will be static. You may also hear ambient sounds. I’m sure after reading this complete guide, you must have learned about bone conduction headphones.
What do you think about this article? Was this article helpful to know about bone conduction headphones? Let us share your reviews on learning about bone conduction headphones in the comment section.
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