Will Bone Conduction Earphones Affect Hearing?

Before investing money in something, it's best to even know something about what you are buying. So let's take a look at some basic knowledge about bone conduction earphones.

1. Are bone conduction earphones good?

It depends on your purpose of use. If you are an audiophile and are looking for your next pair of earphones, then these earphones are not for you. They are not designed for high-fidelity playback. Bone conduction earphones are designed to allow your ears to listen freely to what is happening around you.

Moreover, since a large part of the sound quality of a pair of earphones is their isolation, it is obvious that bone conduction earphones are not isolated at all, so some sound quality will be lost.

Freeing your ears and hearing the surrounding sounds are the whole purpose of using bone conduction earphones. For runners or cyclists who need to pay attention to their surroundings while away from home, hearing through bone conduction is a useful way to still enjoy music or podcasts without losing attention to the surroundings.

2. Will bone conduction earphones cause hearing loss?

Bone conduction earphones bypassing the eardrum does not mean that they will not cause hearing loss. You can fully understand several different types of hearing loss in our complete explainer, but the most common type of hearing loss is called sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

This is due to hearing loss, which is caused by damage to the small hairs (called three-dimensional cilia) inside the ears. They are located in the inner ear and nerve pathways, and can still be worn out by regular use or loud sounds, just like wearing ordinary earphones.

3. The advantages of bone conduction earphones

Just like anything else in life, using bone conduction earphones has its advantages. If you are a runner or a cyclist, bone conduction earphones are a great way to stay motivated during your workout, while also maintaining an understanding of your surroundings.