There have been a lot of improvements in headphone technology in the past few decades. However, the main question is are bone conduction headphones safe?
Bone conduction headphones are completely safe for hearing within a limit. It is because these headphones use the bone conduction principle instead of injecting the sound directly into the ear canal.
However, there’s a lot more to learn about this interesting piece of technology. If you are interested in discovering all the facts related to bone conduction headphones then keep on reading.
It is because just in a few minutes you will learn how these headphones work and what makes them safe for hearing.
So without any further ado, let’s get started.
Contents
A Word About Bone Conduction
Bone conduction headphones work by sending sound vibrations through the bones to the inner ear. This, in turn, stimulates the movement of the tiny hair cells that trigger a nerve impulse to your brain, and eventually sound is heard.
The bone conduction principle has been around for many centuries. It’s been used by people who have conductive hearing loss for decades. These days, the technique is used for people who have an impairment in the ear canal, ossicles, or the cochlea.
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work?
The working principle of bone conduction headphones is quite easy to understand. However, it is important to know that this technique isn’t new and has been used by many people across the world for decades because of its simplicity and reliability.
In simple words, bone conduction headphones send the sound vibrations through the bones to the inner ear. This stimulates the movement of tiny hair cells which triggers a nerve impulse to your brain and you finally hear something.
How Safe Are They as Compared To Traditional Headphones?
Bone conduction headphones are much safer for your ear canal as you don’t have to put the sound directly into your ear hole.
However, there is one problem with these headphones that need to be mentioned. Since this technique bypasses the eardrum, it somewhat reduces the dynamic range of hearing experience you get from conventional headphones.
This means that there’s a possibility that you will miss softer sounds, especially when you switch between bone conduction headphones and regular headphones.
So henceforth, it is safe to say that this technology is much safer than the traditional earbuds in many ways.
However, if these are completely safe is something which requires mentioning in this article also.
Are Bone Conduction Headphones Completely Safe?
Bone conduction headphones are completely safe for hearing but that does not mean they don’t produce any sound that might damage your ear canal in the long run.
This is because these headphones use a very powerful speaker to vibrate the bones in your skull and enable you to hear sound.
In fact, the sound produced from these headphones is 100 dB which is even more than what you get from regular earbuds.
However, this does not mean that they will damage your hearing in a single day. The science behind bone conduction technology shows that it takes a lot of time for your ears to feel any severe damage.
You should also keep in mind that if you are using bone conduction headphones without any additional soundproofing mechanism, then there is a chance for the sound to leak.
If the person sitting next to you can hear what you are listening then this will obviously lead to hearing loss of the person who’s wearing it.
What’s The Frequency Range?
Source: blog.medel.pro/
The frequency range of bone conduction headphones is 20 Hz – 16kHz. This covers the entire frequency spectrum and enables you to hear your music with crystal clear quality!
According to different studies, the human ears can hear sound in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but there is always a possibility that you might not hear some frequencies.
However, this doesn’t mean that you lose out on an entire frequency spectrum but you experience sound loss at the lower and higher ends of the frequency spectrum.
Are Bone Conduction Headphones Comfortable As Compared To Traditional Earbuds?
Bone conduction headphones are much more comfortable than the traditional earbuds that you wear. The reason behind this is simple since these headphones don’t go inside your inner ear so you don’t feel any discomfort after wearing them for several hours.
However, there are some bone conduction headphones that come with large cups and can be a little heavy on your ears. So if you wear them for hours, it might become uncomfortable.
Can Bone Conduction Headphones Cause Headaches?
This is a common question in most people and we will try to answer it in detail.
If you wear these headphones for hours, they might put some pressure on your ear bones which sometimes cause pain and also irritation in your skull.
The reason behind this pain is that when you use bone conduction headphones, the sound waves are directly sent to your inner ear which might cause some pain or discomfort.
However, if you are not wearing these headphones for several hours, there won’t be any pain at all since it will take a lot of time before any damage can occur.
So henceforth, it is safe to say that bone conduction headphones definitely cause headaches but not in a single-use.
Apart from that, it is also very important to note that any kind of headphones with regular use will cause headaches. Always make sure to give proper rest to your ears and listen to music in a comfortable volume range.
Are Bone Conduction Headphones Loud Enough?
Just because you don’t plug these headphones directly in your ear it doesn’t mean that they won’t be loud. As we mentioned earlier, bone conduction headsets use vibration to vibrate the bone and send messages to our brain.
It is a technology that is used for military as well as scuba diving situations. This simply means that they are loud enough because they can fulfill the needs in war and underwater situations.
Last Minute Thoughts
are bone conduction headphones safe? Yes, these headphones are absolutely safe within a specific range. However, if you exceed the comfortable range for a longer period then most probably you will experience hearing loss.
It is not only for bone-conducting headphones but in general, this is the case with all types of headsets. We hope we’ve answered all of your questions. If there’s anything else on your mind feel free to let us know in the comments.
Also, don’t forget to share this useful piece of information with your friends. It may help them understand and learn about the technology more.