Bone conduction headphones sit slightly forward of the ears and use a transducer to send vibrations directly to the inner ear, bypassing the ear canal. This allows you to hear your music clearly while also hearing your surroundings. They can be great for athletes or anyone who wants to remain aware of their environment while listening to music. Because they don’t seal around or touch the ear canal, bone conduction headphones can also be worn while wearing hearing aids without interfering with their functionality.
Most bone conduction headphone models feature a small speaker that rests on the cheekbones, and it transmits audio through vibrations to the middle ear bones, where the cochlea registers them as sound. Some models have a microphone that can be used to take phone calls, and some feature touch controls for changing song and volume. While most of the models we reviewed have a touch control on the neckband, some, such as the AfterShokz Aeropex and Shokz OpenRun, come with an inline remote and microphone that’s easy to reach when you’re wearing your headset.
While the audio quality on most bone conduction headphones is good enough for a workout, they aren’t going to impress listeners looking for immersive surround sound and rich bass. Plus, because they don’t block out external noise, you won’t get the benefit of noise cancellation that’s a big draw for other types of headphones. bone conduction headphones with mic