For those who are born deaf, bone conduction headphones can be a life-changing invention. It allows them to experience sound from the outside world by using vibrations through their skull.
If you want to know, can bone conduction headphones help deaf? The short answer is yes. Bone conduction can be helpful for people who can’t hear due to age, injury, or congenital disability. Bone conduction can also benefit the hearing impaired because it can transmit vibrations through the bones in your head and into your inner ear.
However, many people would love to use these devices for various reasons, such as when you’re at work and don’t want others around you to hear your music. There are also other situations where these may come in handy, so let’s explore some of them here!
What are Bone Conduction Headphones?
Bone conduction is a type of headphone that allows you to listen to music by sending sound through your cheekbones. There is an outer earpiece with small speakers inside, which sits just in front of the ear.
The speaker then transfers vibrations into the bones behind the ears and straight into the cochlea (inner ear). Bone conduction headsets work by conducting sound vibrations through your skull to the inner ear, bypassing the eardrum.
The inner ear contains seven tiny bones that transmit sound waves to the brain. For this reason, bone conduction headphones transmit sound directly through a person’s cranial bones and tissues rather than via their eardrums like traditional over-the-ear or in-ear headphones.
Type of Bone Conduction Headphones
There are three main types of bone conduction headphones:
In-ear: Bone-conduction headphones fitted inside the ear canal are termed in-ear transducers or earbuds. Hearing aids work similarly by transferring the vibrations of sound through the skull into the inner ear.
Open-ear: These are headphones with a band that fits around the back of your head and overtop both ears. The speaker pads sit on top of your pinnae, or outer ear, which allows sound to be conducted through your bones as well as through air conduction.
Semi-open ear: These bone conduction headphones are very similar to open-ear types in that they have speaker pads on top of your pinna or outer ear. However, semi-open ear models do not feature solid headbands and allow some ambient noise through the sides.
Closed-ear: These types of bone conduction headphones fit snugly against the side of your head without covering or plugging up your ears. They are similar to earbuds, but the speaker pads rest on top of your pinnae instead of inside the ear canal.
Can Bone Conduction Headphones Help Deaf?
Bone conduction headphones are a relatively new technology that has the potential to help deaf people.
Cheekbone conduction headphones function by sending sound energy through your cheekbones and skull rather than straight into your ear canal.
Bone conduction devices are one of the most effective ways for deaf or hard-of-hearing people to experience music.
The sounds that strike your eardrum cause it to vibrate and send these signals into your brain via nerves in your inner ear.
This process allows you to hear the noise around you while listening to music played through headphones or earbuds.
However, the process is different for deaf or hard-of-hearing people because they cannot pick up these vibrations to hear music.
Advantage of Bone Conduction Headphones for the Deaf People
Bone conduction headphones are the latest technology that has been introduced to help deaf people by using sound through bone.
This is a new way of listening with your ears but not on them. Instead, it uses vibrations that are sent from ear bones directly into the inner ear.
Standard Benefits:
- Bone conduction headphones are a way to enjoy music without bothering others.
- Bone conduction headphones provide an opportunity for deaf people to hear sound and feel vibrations.
- Bone conduction headphones create a way to listen in loud areas.
- These headphones can be used with hearing aids and cochlear implants.
- They are also great for listening to music while commuting on the subway or train, traveling by plane or bus, etc.
Emotional Benefits:
- Bone conduction headphones help the deaf community by giving them access to sounds they’ve never been able to hear before.
- Bone conduction headphones can help bring deaf people closer together by enjoying music with each other.
- Bone conduction headphones can help the deaf community feel included and not isolated.
- Bone conduction headphones help the deaf community integrate into society.
Technical Benefits:
- Bone conduction headphones are lightweight and small.
- These headphones can be paired with smartphones or another device through Bluetooth, making them easy to use.
- They come in many different sizes, colors, styles, etc., so people can choose what they like best.
- Batteries last several hours before recharging are required.
- Bone conduction headphones are also very durable so that they can last for many years with no issues.
Social Benefits:
- You can still talk with others while listening through bone conduction without having to remove your headphones.
- A study shows that people with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia.
- With cochlear implants and mild to moderate hearing losses, bone conduction headphones can be used.
- These types of headphones allow the brain’s auditory neurons to receive sound through vibrations that were not delivered before, which helps slow down or prevent further damage from age-related hearing loss.
- People with age-related hearing loss can listen to music and carry on conversations at the same time, which is difficult when using traditional headphones or earbuds because you have to remove them to talk or hear what others are saying.
- Many users state that they love listening to music through bone conduction headphones because it feels like the sound is surrounding them.
- Bone conduction has helped people who are deaf enjoy their lives more than ever before, which can reduce stress and anxiety.
Aesthetic Benefits:
- The design is more stylish than traditional headphones.
- They are less bulky and do not have any cords that traditional earphones often come with, making them easy to carry around on your person wherever you go.
- Bone conduction also makes it easier for people who wear glasses or sunglasses as they will no longer interfere with your earphones.
- They are even easier to use for children or people who have trouble operating traditional earphones, as there is no need to worry about cords at all.
Sound Quality:
- Bone conduction headphones provide a natural sound quality that does not interfere with outside noises in any way, so you can still enjoy your music at a volume that is safe for your ears.
- The way the sound wave is conducted through the bones in your skull allows you to hear every note of music or dialogue clearly, without any distortion at all. This means no more tinny-sounding earphones!
Comfort:
- The inside of traditional headphones can often get uncomfortably hot, which can cause you to take them off after a few minutes of wearing them. Bone conduction headphones do not heat up because they are worn outside your ears, and there are no physical earphones inside the ear canal that can become too warm for comfort.
- The material used in traditional headphones often becomes less comfortable over time as they can wear down and start to irritate the skin on your ears. Bone conduction headphones do not cause any discomfort. They are made from a soft silicone material designed for all-day comfort instead of just an hour or two at home with no physical activity involved.
Safety:
- When using traditional headphones, you can be exposed to dangerous levels of sound that can cause hearing loss over time.
- Bone conduction technology does not affect the outside noise around you, so it is perfectly safe for use in places where there is a lot of traffic or other noises happening at the same time.
- They are also great for people who work in noisy environments, such as construction workers or people who work with machinery, as they can hear their surroundings’ sounds without worrying about missing out on any important information.
Convenience:
- Bone conduction headphones are great if you like listening to music when you exercise because they do not interfere with your ability to hear and react to any sounds around you that might alert you to potential dangers.
- They are also great for people who like listening to music while they work because they will not distract them from their tasks in any way, but the sound quality is still good enough for your needs!
The disadvantage of Bone Conduction Headphones for the Deaf People
One of the disadvantages of Bone Conduction Headphones for deaf people is that they cannot hear if the headphones are on or off. This may lead to users accidentally leaving them powered on when not in use, quickly draining power from the battery. It also limits their ability to be alerted by notifications because there’s no sound.
How Do Bone Conduction Headphones Work for the Deaf People?
These headphones are primarily made for people who can’t hear. This device works on a different principle than traditional speakers or earphones, which use air to produce sound through vibrations of the diaphragm in the speaker.
In contrast, bone conduction technology uses vibration directly on your skull. As sound waves are transmitted through your cheekbones, they reach your cochlea.
The most common application of bone conduction headphones is in the military. They are used to transmit instructions or other information on a secure channel without compromising communication at all.
However, these devices have also proved very effective for people who can’t hear but want to listen to music with this headphone set while traveling or working.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can deaf people hear with Aftershokz?
Yes. The sound wave is sent through the cheekbones to the inner ear in the same way traditional headphones work. However, when using Aftershokz bone conduction technology, no headphones are placed directly over or in the ears like traditional headsets, allowing wearers to continue listening to their surroundings while listening to music.
Are bone conduction headphones better for your hearing?
Most people believe bone conduction headphones are better for your hearing than using earbuds. This is because bone conduction headphones allow you to perceive the music playing the same way you would by listening to the normal music, but without playing it directly into your ears.
Bone conduction works because it is converted into an electrical impulse sent to the brain when sound reaches the eardrum.
A standard set of headphones blocks this process because they are placed on or in your ear, which prevents the sound from reaching your eardrum.
In comparison, bone conduction sends those vibrations directly to your ear through your skull, where those impulses travel as if they had come from your eardrum.
Bone Conduction Technology and the Inner Ear
Bone conduction is a form of communication that does not require speakers. Instead, the sound wave is passed through the bones close to the ear.
This communication technique is often used in hearing aids, communication devices for cerebral palsy, and underwater communications.
The inner ear is an organ that includes the cochlea, semicircular canals, nerves of hearing and balance, and the auditory nerve. It connects to the brain by way of the auditory nerve.
The inner ear converts the sound signals into nerve impulses and works with the auditory nerve to send these hearing and balance signals to the brain.
Many modern devices, such as open-fit hearing aids, cochlear implants, noise generators, and sonar systems are using or are being developed with bone-conduction technology.
Conclusion
Bone conduction technology has improved the lives of many people who are deaf by allowing them to hear what they’ve been missing.
People with mild to moderate hearing loss can use bone conduction headphones to protect the brain’s auditory neurons from further damage, which helps slow down or prevent dementia and cognitive decline.
Bone conduction technology allows people with age-related hearing loss to enjoy their music more than ever before, reducing stress and anxiety, which can be very beneficial for people who are deaf.
