The Difference Between Wireless Bluetooth Bone Conduction Headsets and Air Conduction Headphones
In the past two years, I have a new toy, which is wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets. I use them to listen to music while running and it feels good. I often share opinions about headphone products and music with my friends in the hardware community and sports community. Nowadays, many people can’t figure out the difference between wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets and air conduction headphones. Some people even listen to the propaganda of unscrupulous merchants and mistakenly say that air conduction headphones are an upgraded version of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets, which really makes me speechless.
The difference between wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets and air conduction headphones Literally understood, their main difference is in the way of sound transmission. wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets use the skull as a medium to transmit sound, while air conduction headphones use air as a medium to transmit sound. The reason why some people mistakenly think that air conduction headphones are an upgraded version of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets is mainly because some air conduction headphones are cleverly designed to look the same as wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets and wear the same way. Once the manufacturers of air conduction headphones carry out large-scale publicity, consumers will be misunderstood.
Air-conduction headphones work with the sound-generating unit attached to the temple, but they are actually two speakers. They rely on the speakers to emit sound waves, which transmit the sound to the ear through the air, and the sound waves vibrate the eardrum to produce hearing. In fact, most traditional headphones are also air conduction headphones. Therefore, this kind of headphone is actually a kind of traditional headphone, you must not be fooled.
Are wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets safer?
Just to get straight to my point, wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are safer and healthier than regular headphones, they are the healthiest kind of headphones. There are several reasons.They cause less hearing damage, less damage to cranial nerves and auditory nerves than traditional headphones, and are safer during wearing.
Wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are safer 1: it is less harmful to hearing
First of all, because hearing damage generally occurs in the eardrum and inner ear, wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets rely on human bones to transmit sound, and they do not need to pass through the ear canal and tympanic membrane, so damage to the tympanic membrane can be avoided. Compared with conventional headphones, the vibration waves of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are also relatively moderate, which will have less impact on auditory hair cells, so they are the headphones that cause the least damage to the ears.
Wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are safer 2: it does less damage to the auditory nerve
Next, let me talk about the problem of electromagnetic waves. Most electronic products have problems with electromagnetic waves, but the strength of electromagnetic waves varies. The electromagnetic waves of traditional headphones are relatively stronger, and it is easier to cause damage to the human brain and hearing nerves. The electromagnetic waves of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are extremely weak, they have the same intensity as the electromagnetic waves existing in nature, and will not cause damage to the human brain and hearing nerves.
Wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are safer 3: pay attention to environmental sound to protect your safety
The way wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are worn can also help the wearer avoid the dangers of wearing them. They don’t need to be plugged into the ear canal when you wear them, and you can still keep an eye on the surrounding environment while listening to music with them. For example, if you wear wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets when crossing the road, you will not be in danger because you cannot hear the sound of the horn; when you are exercising outdoors, you can also hear the sound behind you by wearing them to avoid some dangerous situations.
In addition to safety, wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets have many advantages, such as comfortable to wear, clean and hygienic, high waterproof level and so on.
Of course, there are two small disadvantages of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets, that is, the sound quality is not perfect, and there is a slight sound leakage problem. However, with the advancement of technology, these two problems have been greatly improved. The better wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets do a good job in improving sound quality and preventing sound leakage.
All of the advantages and disadvantages are determined by their working principle.
# How do wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets work? To understand how wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets work, you need to understand how the ear works.
The ear is divided into the outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, and auditory nerve from front to back. The outer ear is what we call the part of the ear that is visible from the outside. When sound enters the outer ear, it travels directly to the eardrum, and the sound that hits the eardrum vibrates the air in the middle ear like a drum, causing the air to vibrate and travel to the cochlea of the inner ear. Shaped like a snail, the cochlea contains lymph fluid and sound-sensing cells called hair cells. The vibration of the eardrum causes the lymph fluid and hair cells in the cochlea to vibrate. Hair cells convert this vibration into an electrical signal and transmit it to the auditory nerve. The auditory nerve carries the electrical signals received from the hair cells to the brain. The center of the brain processes the electrical signals it receives, resulting in the sounds we hear. This way of transmitting sound is the way of air conduction. Our common headphones use air-conduction sound transmission, but the working principle of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets is completely different. It uses bone conduction sound.
We can compare the difference between these two sound transmission methods:
The sound transmission path of air conduction headphones: outer ear → eardrum→ middle ear → inner ear (cochlea) → auditory nerve → brain
The sound transmission path of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets: temporal bone (skull) → inner ear (cochlea) → auditory nerve → brain
Compared with air conduction headphones, the sound transmission path of wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets does not have several steps of “outer ear→eardrum→middle ear”. When using them, the sound conduction process is that the sound source vibrates and directly transmits the sound to the inner ear (cochlea) through the skull. This working principle also makes the headphones do not need to be inserted into the ear, which better protects the ear canal and eardrum.
Bone conduction headsets are becoming more and more popular among young people,and more and more brands join this field.So, which brand is the best?In my opinion, those brands that have accumulated technology in this field are trustworthy.Below, I have sorted out some good Bluetooth bone conduction headsets brands, and recommend them to you. I hope they can help.
1, Wissonly Hi Runner wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
As a veteran electronic product fans, I can responsibly tell you that the Wissonly wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are true bone conduction, which can protect hearing, so they are recommended by many otologists.
At the same time, Wissonly Hi Runner is also very good in terms of sound quality. It uses a 360 surround vibration unit, which can increase the vibration area by 35% compared with traditional wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets.They reduces the loss during bone conduction sound transmission, and which makes the sound more powerful.
Wissonly Hi Runner wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets are made of memory titanium that can be self-adjusted, which can ensure that the headphones have a good wearing experience and take into account more users.
In terms of functionality, as the flagship model of Wissonly Brand, Wissonly Hi RUNNER supports IPX8 waterproof level which is higher than the industry standard, and it can be worn in diving. It is equipped with 32G body memory, as well as the latest Bluetooth 5.0. Its product performance and experience have been comprehensively improved, truly making wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets suitable for more life scenarios.
2. Philips A6606 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
It is equipped with a night run lamp for safe lighting, which turns on the LED lamp when running at night, and showing the position and ensuring safety. Built-in 15mm bone conduction vibrator and open acoustic structure in headphones bring a wide sense of space, while allowing you to enjoy a shocking bass effect.
It has IP67 dustproof and waterproof certification, which can completely prevent dust from entering headphones, and it can be used normally even in rainy days, but it can’t be used when swimming.
3.AfterShokz OPENRUN PRO wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
AfterShokz Openrun Pro’s headphones are very light, weighs only 26g. It’s very light and comfortable to run on your ears. The whole machine is made of titanium alloy, and the headphones on both sides are wrapped with skin-friendly silica gel, which make it has a IP67 waterproof grade. It can be drenched in the rain, splashed with water and washed, and there is no problem even in bad weather during outdoor sports. The structure adopts the back-hanging design and can’t be worn in the ear, which is very friendly to users who often wears it. The whole machine is also equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 three-core chip, which can realize fast connection, stable sound quality connection within 10 meters, and intelligent identification by algorithm, which can effectively filter the ambient sound and make the voice clearer.
4.Earsopen peace tw-1 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
Peace tw-1 is different from the traditional wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets, and it adopts a unique ear clip form, which has certain firmness. However, the wearing process is a bit complicated, and it is impossible to finish wearing with one hand. IP67 waterproof level can easily cope with rainy days, but it is not suitable for swimming. The Bluetooth version of 5.0 keeps the connection stable during music transmission.
5. Nank Runner CC3 wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headsets
Recommended reason:
The Runner cc2 headphone’s body is fully enclosed design. The waterproof ability is greatly improved, reaches the level of LPX6, it can easily resist daily rain and sweat. It has a built-in low-energy Bluetooth 5.0 chip that has fast connection and stable signal. In terms of reducing sound leakage, the Runner CC 2 is still relatively small in sound leakage. The sound quality is also OK, and it is a good entry-level wireless Bluetooth bone conduction headset.
Each of the above products has its own characteristics. You can choose according to your own needs. Wissonly and Aftershokz are my favorite brands. Their technology is relatively mature and the overall performance of their products is relatively good. Between the two brands, Wissonly will be more cost-effective.