Bone conduction headphones with a mic allow you to add a soundtrack to your day without blocking off your ears—they simply use vibrations in the cheekbones to funnel audio to your inner ear. The eardrum isn’t involved, so you can still hear your surroundings and respond to traffic noise or other people. This type of headphone works well for commuters or athletes, as you can stay safe and aware of what’s going on around you while also enjoying a curated playlist.
Unlike conventional headphones that use small speakers in or over the ears, bone-conduction headphones rest on the cheekbones and utilize a transducer to transmit audio data via vibrations. That’s similar to how Ludwig Van Beethoven’s deafness allowed him to feel the music through his conductor’s baton. In the case of headphones, the vibrations travel from the ears through the middle ear bones to the cochlea in the inner ear where they’re converted into sound signals for the auditory nerve. This is also the technology that allows for bone-anchored hearing aids to work.
The best bone-conduction headphones with a mic feature the latest technology to deliver crisp and clear audio. This includes Bluetooth 5.1 to maintain a connection up to 328 feet away and battery life of up to eight hours. Other features to look for include a built-in microphone, multifunction buttons, and a secure fit.
The Shokz OpenRun is a top-of-the-line pair of bone-conduction headphones with a microphone that’s great for listening to a podcast or jamming out to your favorite tunes on a run or while cycling. These headphones have a comfortable design and are easy to pair with your mobile device. They also have an IPX7 rating that means they can be dunked, but not swum in, and offer up to eight hours of playback. bone conduction headphones with mic