With the continuous improvement and development of bone conduction technology, bone conduction headphones — once only seen in Hollywood war movies — have gradually entered the lives of ordinary users. As a cycling enthusiast, in-ear headphones block out external sounds, significantly reducing safety during running, hiking, and especially cycling; wired headphones often get pulled out of the ears or even caught on tree branches due to terrain and movement speed while running, hiking, or cycling. The AfterShokz bone conduction headphones are perfect for this — not only do they eliminate the need for in-ear wear, improving comfort, but they also enhance safety. Here’s my personal experience to share with fellow cyclists:
First, let’s get a quick understanding of what bone conduction is.
Bone conduction is a method of sound transmission where sound is converted into mechanical vibrations of different frequencies and transmitted through the human skull, bony labyrinth, inner ear lymph fluid, cochlea, auditory nerve, and auditory center. Compared to the traditional sound transmission method that relies on diaphragms to produce sound waves, bone conduction skips many steps of sound wave transmission, enabling clear sound reproduction even in noisy environments, and the sound waves won’t affect others by spreading through the air. Bone conduction technology is divided into bone conduction speaker technology and bone conduction microphone technology:
(1) Bone conduction speaker technology is used for receiving sound. Air conduction speakers convert electrical signals into sound waves (vibration signals) that are transmitted to the auditory nerve. In contrast, bone conduction speakers transmit the sound waves (vibration signals) converted from electrical signals directly to the auditory nerve through the bones. The medium for transmitting the sound waves (vibration signals) is different.
(2) Bone conduction microphone technology is used for capturing sound. Air conduction microphones capture sound waves transmitted through the air, whereas bone conduction microphones capture sound directly through the bones.
Headphones made using these bone conduction technologies are called bone conduction headphones, also known as bone-guided headphones, bone-sensing headphones, bone-transmitting headphones, or bone-sensor headphones.
Tester: Yu’er