What Is Bone Conduction Technology? How It Works?

If you are a music lover and an avid headphone user, then the title ‘Bone Conduction Headphone’ might have already caught your attention. Wondering what exciting does this article holds for you?  

What Does Bone Conduction Technology Mean?

Bone conduction technology is the conduction of sound through the bones of the skull to the inner ear. Bone conduction transmission can be used with people with normal or hearing loss.

Bone conduction is one reason why a person’s voice sounds different when it is recorded and played back. Since the skull conducts lower frequencies better than air, people feel their own voice to be deeper and fuller than others, and a recording of one’s own voice often sounds higher than one would expect.

Musicians can use bone conduction while stringing instruments on a tuning fork. After the fork swings, it begins to place it in the mouth with the shaft between the posterior teeth ensures that you continue to hear the note about bone conduction, and both hands are free to do the mood. Beethoven in the 1700s the bone conduction, because he was almost completely deaf, so he used a tuning fork and put his chin on the tuning fork so that he could hear his music, better than he can.

Irrespective of the wireless earbuds/headphones in constant use by users, there’s a new breed of specialized wireless headphones garnering attention, which is the bone conduction headphones. And the important feature of this technology is that the headphones rest directly on the listener’s cheekbones, and not into the ear. Reads different, right?  

How Bone Conduction Technology Works?

Traditional sports headphones work on the same premise as bone conduction headphones: they receive an electrical signal emitted from a source (our MP3 player, our heart rate monitor or our mobile phone) and from it generate audible waves. At this last point is where bone conduction headphones innovate, because what they do is convert those electrical impulses into a vibration that is transmitted through our bones to the inner ear.

The Vibez bone conduction headphones are placed in front of the drink, in contact with the zygomatic apophysis of the temporal bone (in front of the ear, at the height of the cheekbone) and from there the vibrations are transmitted to the inner ear. The sound is not transmitted to the outside, but only the person wearing them can listen to music.

If we train outdoors, especially if we carry out cardiovascular activities in which we have to move (bike, race, skating) canceling the ambient noise can become dangerous: on the one hand, we lose important information about our body since we do not hear our own breathing or our footsteps, and on the other hand, we lose contact with the world around us, which can cause accidents in some cases (not hearing the horn of a car, another athlete approaching us or the bell of a bike to you or).

The main advantage of this type of headphones is that it keeps us in touch with the environment, thus increasing our security and the information we receive from abroad while still enjoying our music or our favorite podcast.

Unlike the traditional headphones/earbuds we use, the eardrum does not vibrate to pass on the information (technically being the music) to the cochlea. Rather, the vibrations from the bone conduction go straight to the cochlea. 

Keeping the in-depth science aside, with the help of a bone conduction headphone, the vibrations go straight into the top of your jaw to the inner ear and then the brain. Unlike the direct vibrations of our eardrums to get our brain activity and listen to the information coming in.  

The use of headphones that insulate from outside noise and the perception of the environment can compromise the safety of the user, especially in urban areas, where there is a high concentration of vehicles and pedestrians. In fact, nine out of ten hit-and-runs occur in urban areas and one of the main causes is the recklessness of pedestrians. Vibez headphones allow the user to keep their attention to what is happening around them and perceive the alerts that may occur, which is fundamental due to the change in our lifestyle and the new mobility proposals.

In addition, by not penetrating the inner ear, delicate eardrums are protected from possible damage caused by prolonged listening to music, as is the case with other in-ear headphones. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss from their daily habits.

Is Bone Conduction Technology Safe?

Every technology that has been invented has its own advantages and disadvantages. And so, does the bone conduction headphones. Let’s analyze the pros and cons of this exciting new technology so that you can understand better.  

Advantages of bone conduction technology

• The most lovable point to use the headphone is that you can listen to everything else while enjoying your favorite song. It keeps your ear unplugged and open to the environment.
• Comfort and improvement of the musical experience
• By not introducing any sound but vibrations into our skull, the advantages are evident for this type of headphones. The first is that we won’t damage our eardrums due to excess power, something that many headphones sin. This results in better hearing health from the second zero, where they also have another direct advantage: we can perceive the sound around us.
• This comes in handy in sports like road cycling, where it’s as important to get well on the road as to be attentive to every detail that goes around us.
• To provide the best user experience, Vibez has developed and patented additional technologies such as PremiumPitch+TM, which optimizes sound is transmitted through the bone, or LeakSlayerTM, which reduces sound leaks. In addition, the headset microphones feature double noise cancellation to eliminate unwanted noise during phone conversations.
• Vibez bone conduction headphones are currently the top model in the range. Made of carbon fiber, they weigh only 30g and are designed to fit the physical morphology of the user, so that they provide maximum comfort. They are resistant to sweat, dust, and rain. They have a battery life of up to 6 hours and 20 days on standby.
• Next, the headphones are made sweat-resistant and flexible, which adds up for sure. If you are an adventure lover, a hiker or cyclist, this headphone lets you focus and be aware of the surroundings.  
• The last advantage is perhaps the most obvious of all: only we will listen to the music, not disturbing anyone in any way since the sound when transmitted will already be inside our skull.

Disadvantages of bone conduction technology

• To begin with, as you now understand the working, the vibrations are sent through a rigid material/part of your jaw which requires more energy to send the information to your inner ear.
• As a result, the sound might vary compared to the headphone/earphone which directly interacts with your eardrum.
• To add up, while operating the headphone, you might press the buttons which can also make you feel an extra vibration at the place.  
• Perhaps the only negative points are, on the one hand, the clamping systems that some models incorporate, and on the other the price, since in this case, it is very important the quality of the headphones to ensure the best sound with the least loss.
• Although it is true that much progress has been made in this type of device, the quality still costs a higher disbursement and in this case, it is widely appreciable.

Who Invented Bone Conduction Technology?

Hugo Gernsback

Osophone, a hearing aid was first developed by Hugo Gernsback in 1923, who later developed Phonosone.

Some headphones use bone conduction and reproduce an effect equivalent to direct listening. An earpiece is ergonomically positioned on the temple and cheek and the electromechanical transducer, which converts electrical signals into mechanical vibrations, sends sound to the inner ear through the skull bones. Similarly, a microphone can be used to record sounds spoken by bone conduction.

These tiny little headphones were invented in the early 1890s and unlike today, they weren’t so tiny earlier. The so-called headphones of that time were single-sided heavy speakers which had to be held close to our ears for better communication. This later evolved into an electrophone- a stethoscope type headphone connected to a switchboard. And guess what? This heavy setup was an iPod of their time in London.  

Now, the first-ever real headphone was invented by engineer Nathan Baldwin on his kitchen table. It seemed different and impossible back then but, the actual importance of the invention was realized only by the US Navy at first. Thank God they did! After this, the evolution of headphones just never stopped and kept growing almost every subsequent year in 1937, 1939, 1958, 1960 and 1970. 

Should I Buy a Bone Conduction Headphone?

The bone conduction headphone completely lives up to the promise and it makes an impact. It not only gives you flexibility but, provides you the feasibility to be aware of your surroundings.

Of course, technology has its own disadvantages in terms of technical aspects but, as the world evolves, we are sure the turnarounds would also be invented.  

The wireless bone conduction headphone is definitely a grab! Buy Bone Conduction headphones Here.

Are you ready to get the latest technology headphone? 

GoVision brings to you the latest technology headphone called Vibez which is equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity ranging up to 10 meters. The open ear design headphone is sweat resistant, has the noise-canceling capacity and has 6 hours of playtime.