Shokz
uk.shokz.com › blogs › news › how-does-bone-conduction-headphones-work
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work? - Shokz UK
In a similar way to Beethoven and his conductor's baton. Shokz bone conduction headphones use vibrations to transmit sound directly to your inner ear through the bones located in your upper cheek and jaw.
Soundcore
soundcore.com › home › blog center › headphones blog › how do bone conducting headphones work?
How Do Bone Conducting Headphones Work? (Explained)
August 27, 2024 - Bone-conduction headphones transmit sound waves through the cheekbones directly through the inner ear. Unlike traditional headphones and in-ear earbuds, it bypasses the outer and middle ear when delivering sounds.
Videos
06:35
The Genius Way the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Changes Bone Conduction ...
07:27
The Science of How Bone Conduction Headphones Work - Feat. The ...
00:43
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work? - YouTube
04:12
The BEST Bone Conduction Headphones of 2025 - It's Not Just Shokz...
20:55
Shokz OpenSwim Pro Review: The best bone conduction ...
Aftershokz Air - Bone Conduction Headphones TUTORIAL
Can I use bone conduction headphones with hearing aids?
This depends on the design of your hearing aid. If you have in-the-ear (ITE) or invisible (IIC) hearing aids, you should be able to use bone conduction headphones with hearing aids without issue. However, if you have behind-the-ear (BTE), receiver-in-canal (RIC), or open-fit hearing aids, you could experience some discomfort when wearing bone conduction headphones because they may make contact with the top part of the hearing aid module.
soundguys.com
soundguys.com › home › earbuds & headphones › bone conduction headphones: gimmick or godsend?
Bone conduction headphones: Gimmick or godsend? - SoundGuys
Can I use bone conduction headphones with tinnitus?
Tinnitus typically is a product of the brain in response to hearing loss. Bone conduction headphones won’t cure your tinnitus, but they’re safe to use.
soundguys.com
soundguys.com › home › earbuds & headphones › bone conduction headphones: gimmick or godsend?
Bone conduction headphones: Gimmick or godsend? - SoundGuys
Are bone conduction headphones something a person who can't wear normal on-ear headphones or earbuds due to jaw or head sensitivity might use?
This will depend on the extent of the sensitivity and the specific model. Bone conduction headphones still attach to your head or your ears.
soundguys.com
soundguys.com › home › earbuds & headphones › bone conduction headphones: gimmick or godsend?
Bone conduction headphones: Gimmick or godsend? - SoundGuys
Philips
philips.co.uk › c-e › so › sound-hub › what-are-bone-conduction-headphones
What are bone-conduction headphones? | Philips
September 27, 2022 - Soundwaves reach the eardrum first, and they make it move. Those movements start vibrations in the auditory ossicles—and then you get the whole cochlear fluid/nerve endings thing happening, as described above. But you don’t have to make your eardrum move to hear something. There are other ways to make the bones in your inner ear vibrate—and that’s how bone-conduction headphones work.
conduction of sound to the inner ear through bones other than the ossicles of the middle ear
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Bone_conduction
Bone conduction - Wikipedia
2 days ago - Because bone conduction headphones transmit sound to the inner ear through the bones of the skull, leaving the ears free to pick up sound from the environment, users can listen to audio while maintaining greater situational awareness than with acoustic in- or over-ear headphones.
Salusu Health
salusuhealth.com › news › 2018 › 08 › how-do-bone-conduction-headphones-work.html
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work?
By biting his composer’s wand and pressing it against his piano, he could transmit the audio waves into physical vibrations. In this manner, he could “hear” and work on his famous works. Unlike traditional headphones, bone conduction headphones sit on the outside of the ear.
TechTarget
techtarget.com › whatis › definition › bonephones
What are Bone Conduction Headphones and How Do They Work?
Bone conduction headphones -- sometimes called 'bonephones'-- are headphones that transmit sound waves through the bones in a user's skull instead of their ear canal. When in use, the bones in a user's skull will vibrate to amplify the sound ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/headphones › bone conduction is just bullshit
r/headphones on Reddit: Bone conduction is just bullshit
May 4, 2023 -
So I have a late model Shokz and can tell you from experience: this "technology" is just hype and bullshit. It's just a speaker placed next to your ear, that's all. At best, what's left to be conducted through your skin and bones is just residual bass, maybe less than 5%. Plugged my ears with proper earplugs and played music in the Shokz. Nearly NOTHING is left, and I assure most of it is just normal sound still leaking through the earplugs, and appropriately muffed.
I don't know how no one ever tested or debunked this thing yet. I was first made aware of this possibility when I visited a Best Buy and tried on these eyeglasses (mind me, from Bose!) with tiny speakers attached. So, they don't purport to be "bone conduction" phones. They sound pretty much the same as my Shokz, it's the same experience.
Coming to think of it, how could it possibly work in the first place? Good sound is a lot more complex than just shockwaves.
My 2 cents.
Edit: I'm not saying the end result is unsatisfactory. I'm just saying it's not conducting any significant amount of sound through the puported means (bone conduction) and that's their entire claim to fame. Bone conduction. It's the deceitful nature of the purported technology itself that bothers me. Other than that, these headphones are good for the intended result - leave your ears free to outside noise.
Edit 2. Still not convinced? I have my Shokz on me now. If I slightly remove its contact with the skin, it should go silent, right? Well, it doesn't. Now try that with the screwdriver thing and see if you can hear anything.
Edit 3. Hey, look: all these "bone conduction" headphones have clear sound openings conveniently directed to you ear canals!
Top answer 1 of 5
26
Aren't bone conduction headphones aimed at like runners and people who want to have their ears open for spatial awareness in public? How is it bullshit if they still provide that benefit?
2 of 5
14
They've been tested. The method has been used for centuries. They work. You not understanding well documented science does not make it bulls4. It's the same principle as a mechanic putting a screwdriver against their jaw and touching it to the item they want to isolate. Now, are they amazing quality, or the be all and end all? No, they're just another option, one that allows for better situational hearing.
Audiophile ON
audiophileon.com › news › bone-conduction-headphones
What are bone conduction headphones and how do they work? — Audiophile ON
November 3, 2025 - The Openrun Pro model, which I linked to below, is actually the bone-conduction headphones that I personally use. I ride road bikes and run mid-distances in the range of 5-10km. As someone who writes for a website about headphones, you can imagine I get all kinds of models for free, so I think it speaks volumes to how good they are that I paid my own money for these. They just work; they are lower profile, stay locked in place better, and sound better than everything else I have tried.
SoundGuys
soundguys.com › home › earbuds & headphones › bone conduction headphones: gimmick or godsend?
Bone conduction headphones: Gimmick or godsend? - SoundGuys
June 6, 2025 - Unfortunately, no: bone conduction may bypass your outer ear, but needs the inner ear bones, cochlea, and your nerve to work in order for you to hear audio. An acoustic neuroma is a tumor on the nerve bundle that connects these organs to your brain, and if that nerve is severed, there’s no longer a link from the ear to your brain. Bone conduction can’t bypass this. ... The Aftershokz Aeropex are the best bone conduction headphones: they use Bluetooth 5.0 technology, has an eight-hour battery life, and are IP67-rated.
RTINGS.com
rtings.com › home › headphones › guide
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work? - RTINGS.com
August 27, 2025 - How do bone conduction headphones work? Learn how this tech lets you enjoy music while staying aware of your surroundings.
Bose
bose.com › home › story listing › air conduction vs. bone conduction: the ultimate guide
Air Conduction vs. Bone Conduction: Open-ear Audio Guide | Bose
April 22, 2024 - Bone conduction headphones act as your eardrums, translating sound waves into vibrations and delivering them to your middle ear. The differences between air and bone conduction for audio · The significant difference when looking at air conduction ...
HowStuffWorks
electronics.howstuffworks.com › tech › gadgets › audio and music gadgets
How Bone-conducting Headphones Work | HowStuffWorks
September 5, 2024 - His device attached just behind the user's outer ears, so that it transmitted sound through the mastoid bones of the user's skull. Bottesch also came up with the idea of selectively amplifying certain frequencies of sound that don't transmit ...
ARTZT Neuro
artztneuro.com › home › neuro blog – knowledge about neuroathletics › neuro blog – knowledge about neuroathletics
How bone conduction headphones work | ARTZT neuro
December 4, 2024 - There they set a fluid and tiny hairs in motion. This ensures that you can hear the sound - without using your eardrum . A thin neckband made of titanium ensures that the headphones are held securely.
Shokz
shokz.com › pages › how-it-works
Bone conduction headphones: How it works
Bone conduction technology converts sound into mechanical vibrations transmitted through the skin and temporal bone to the cochlea, bypassing traditional air conduction transmitters like the external auditory canal or eardrum.
Runner's World
runnersworld.com › running gear › runner's world+ story previews › how bone conduction headphones work so you hear your music and your surroundings
How Bone Conduction Headphones Work So You Hear Your Music and Your Surroundings
October 18, 2022 - Bone conduction headphones take advantage of a sound pathway that bypasses both the ear canal and ear drum. They vibrate against your bones—usually those in front of the ear—and send sounds straight to the inner ear.
What Hi-Fi?
whathifi.com › headphones
Bone conduction headphones: Everything you need to know | What Hi-Fi?
December 20, 2023 - So while these headphones have ... ... Bone conduction works, as the name suggests, by transmitting audio signals as vibrations but directly to the inner ear via the bones....
Soundly
soundly.com › blog › shokz-bone-conduction-headphones-review
An Audiologist's Review of Shokz Bone Conduction Headphones
While bone-conduction headphones may not have the same sound quality as noise-canceling headphones or other top-tier models, they still deliver an impressive listening experience. The sound quality is clear, and you'll notice ambient sounds as you listen. When making phone calls, they work nearly as well as traditional headphones.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/asktechnology › are bone conduction headphones any good
r/AskTechnology on Reddit: Are bone conduction headphones any good
April 2, 2023 -
I'm looking for head phones that are light weigh, compact, and discreet, I would.like it to be corded but blue tooth us fine as long it has a long battery life. So with all these things is bone conduction headphones what I'm looking for? (I don't wanna use ear buds cuz my ears are super waxy and that's gross)
https://www.fredmeyer.com/p/emerge-helix-air-wireless-headphones/0081006114152?fulfillment=PICKUP&storecode=70100209&&cid=shp_adw_shopl_.FY23.01_search_ent_conv_lia_corelia_frys_g_lia_shop_acq_evgn_ship_all_roas_deli&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz6ShBhCMARIsAH9A0qVB4ONlnKUZRC-9lRVd9yBGgCJs5feY-iMCauyFsQTkIEEmtgC_UdwaAto8EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Top answer 1 of 7
3
Tbh "bone conduction" makes them seem way cooler than they are. They're just very buzzy speakers that sit close to your ear and kinda vibrate the sound into your head. It tickles if you turn them up loud enough to hear in any kind of wind and the sound quality predictably sucks. Plus everyone around will be able to hear what you're listening to. Since they have to be so bass-heavy to work the battery life also sucks. I'd recommend getting some of the classic-style airpods with no rubber tip thing, they just hang in your outer ear and don't go all the way in the canal so it's difficult to get much wax on them. Sound quality is way better and you get like 6hrs battery life before they have to go back in the case.
2 of 7
2
They have become my most used headphones by far. I started with them 4-5 years ago as a solution for swimming (mp3 player not bluetooth) and they work absolutely great for that. I recently got a second pair for general use that are Bluetooth, and find myself using them all the time now. They are not for a high quality audio experience though, but the sound quality is quite good for things like gym, yardwork, TikTok, podcasts, phone calls etc. And the don't suck for music either, just not the best. It's very hard to hear them from more than a couple feet away when you set them down, and I think it's probably harder to hear them when someone is wearing them since the speakers are right up against your head. I have asked my family if they can hear them and the say no. I can even listen to podcasts in bed and it doesn't bother my wife (AirPods do). The microphone is decent in mine too, great for phone calls and work meetings that include typical discussions. However if I am doing a presentation, especially a training that I will be archiving for later use, I feel like the mic falls a bit short. The recorded sound is a little lacking in harmonics, and tends to oversaturate and produce that expected cracking sound. That said, it could be more of an issue with how Teams processes the audio than the mic itself. That said, overall I would highly recommend them. They have given me a lot of freedom and made a big difference in my life. It's not uncommon for me to find myself with these little 20 minute gaps where I am waiting for someone to finish getting ready, or in a Dr's waiting room or something where I'll pull up my news aggregator or social media, and it's great to be able to comfortably partake of any media I want, even if there is a video or something mixed in.
PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC10126703
Hearing Through Bone Conduction Headsets - PMC
In recent years, communication headsets that claim to use bone conduction (BC) transmission have become popular (Brown et al., 2019; Lim & Claydon, 2020; Manning et al., 2017). Common for most of these devices is a headband with two BC transducers placed onto the skin in front of the ear canal opening.
University of Waterloo
uwaterloo.ca › arts-computing-newsletter › winter-2020 › feature › bone-conduction-headphones
Bone Conduction Headphones | Arts Computing Office Newsletter | University of Waterloo
December 10, 2021 - If sound-waves don’t go through the auditory canal, can a person still hear it? With bone conduction headphones, the answer is yes. Using the bones in the skull as a medium for sound, provides ample opportunity for new audio capabilities.