Bone conduction uses the natural vibrations of a person’s bones such as skull, jaw and cheek bones to hear sound. Bone conduction technology has improved hearing aid technology over the years, but it has other applications as well.
How it Works
Bone conduction works as sound bypasses the eardrums, leaving the devices such as hearing aids, implants or headphones to perform the role of your eardrums. Bone conduction headphones, for example, decode sound waves and convert them into vibrations that can be received directly by the Cochlea, bypassing the eardrum. This sound reaches the ears as vibrations through the bones.
Image Source: Bone Conduction: How it Works, Goldendance Co., Ltd.
Bone Conduction Headphones
Bone conduction is a technology that has also become popular in the use of headphones, allowing those wearing the headphones to hear ambient noises. The Bone conduction headset does not cover the ear, instead sits close to the ear. So, for example, a runner could listen to music and still hear ambient sounds, such as cars approaching from behind, proving a situational awareness that would not be achieved with standard headphones.
Aftershokz Bone Conducting
Aftershokz is the name of a company that creates wireless and wired bone conduction headset technology with its own proprietary audio technologies and design patents. These products use transducers to guide mini vibrations through the cheekbones to the inner ears, delivering sound without plugging or covering them.
Other technologies used by Aftershokz includes PremiumPitch technology, which assures high bone conduction audio quality in addition to LeakSlayer, which is designed to release sound generated by the transducers to significantly reduce sound leakage.
Image Source: Trekz Titanium Mini wireless stereo headphones by Aftershokz
