Music is a big part of daily life and it has been for almost as long as Human beings have now been on this earth. I often point to a discovery of a 40,000-year-old flute dating back to that ice age as evidence for this, but truly, all the facts you will need is all around you, every day. We remember ballads and songs long after the people who initially composed them have died and rotted away (a plan which I find curiously soothing) plus the music industry, love it or hate it, is always a large business.
Though, whilst the ice age musicians likely survived during a world of stark violence, frozen, dull wastelands and harsh, ‘kill or be killed’ inter-cave politics, they by no means required to cope with road works, transport lorries, screaming babies or drunken crowd-rousers on their way to a stag evening. Lucky buggers.
Today’s listener has to accommodate all that and much more, that may make listening to your music not just difficult, but additionally risky.
Now, though, contemporary science has stumbled across a way in which you’ll be able to still listen to the favourite songs, even if you’re wearing earplugs (no, I have not been sniffing discarded paint cans yet again). It is called bone conduction technology and no, despite the marginally odd name, it really doesn’t hurt…
Based on recent research, exposure to any noise over 100 decibels wears away a membrane known as the myelin sheath and leaves your inner ear susceptible to problems like tinnitus and temporary deafness, which can be the beginning of even more important problems. Bone conduction technology is designed to bypass many sensitive parts of the ear and reduce the risk of inner-ear damage.
How? Well, so as to know that, we need to first understand how our ears actually work. (HERE COMES THE SCIENCE-Y BIT) Principally, noise travels though the air, these sound waves are intercepted by numerous structures in the ear and are finally translated and transmitted into our brains (if it helps, visualize it like the encoding/decoding of digital information, like that which leads the movements of the wireless mouse).
The sound waves first meet a bit of cartilage (yes, the same stuff that a shark’s skeleton is made of), which helps to concentrate the sound, this known as a pinna (but you’ll call it your outer ear without looking too silly).
After that, the sound waves pass into your central ear, it is filled with air and also includes both your acoustic canal plus your eardrum (my little brother burst his when he was little and virtually burst mine crying about it). The eardrum vibrates, passing the sound through to a ossicles, which are three small bones (that are actually pretty necessary to the sense of balance, I’m told). These tiny bones transmit the signal to the cochlea, that is a fluid-filled structure that ‘encodes’ the signals for our noggin to ‘decode’.
Bone conduction tech vibrates the bones of your skull, distributing the sound directly to a cochlea and bypassing the rest of the ear entirely. The nerve impulses transmitted to your mind are exactly the same, however the sensitive instrument of the ear does not need to deal with the hassle of, to quote Anchorman’s Brick Tamland “LOUD NOISES!”
This process seems to be completely safe; in fact, the legendary deaf composer Beethoven applied a rudimentary version of this process to be able to compose his most well-known works. He attached a rod between his piano and his head and, as such, was able to hear the music he was playing.
So here you go, rather than exposing your delicate ears to louder and louder volumes, to drown out the environment noise, it is possible to alternativily stick your earpugs in and play your music at the correct volume. Make no bones about it (groan!)
for more information on the full range of bone conductor earpieces visit www.earpieceonline.co.uk
Showing posts with label bone conduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bone conduction. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Monday, 21 April 2014
Will I be Able to Hear Bone Conduction Headphones Even if I Wear Earplugs?
Because bone conduction bypasses the ear entirely and directly stimulates the ossicles (which is the scientific name for the tiny bones that reside in your inner ear, as well as the rationale behind comic book hero Daredevil’s athletic prowess), it is entirely possible to stick your ear plugs in and still listen to your ‘Bonephones’.
In some respects, it’s actually preferable. Y’see Nick, using headphones is fine and dandy, until you have to turn the volume all the way up in order to drown out noisy children, busy traffic and/or people shouting into their phones all around you. After that, if you increase the volume to too great a degree, you can expose your ears to sounds that can actually permanently damage your hearing.
Bone conduction, however, carries much less of a risk, because it does not effect the parts of the ear most at risk from loud noises.
Hearing is a process that actually has several stages. At first, your ear picks up sound waves, the sound waves pass into your middle ear (specifically, your auditory canal) before hitting the eardrum. The eardrum then vibrates, passing the sound down to the aforementioned ossicles (‘aforementioned ossicles’ is a lovely phrase, don’t you think?) From there, the ossicles transmit the sound to the cochlea, which is a fluid-filled structure that encodes the sound information in order for our brain to decode it (this is not unlike the way a wireless mouse works, actually).
Yup, the inner ear is a wacky world.
Essentially, bone conduction technology rattles the ossicles in the same way that they’d rattle in your inner ear, it just, to turn a phrase my father is particularly fond of ‘cuts out the middle man’. It really is an interesting invention.
So, as you see, there is no way a pair of earplugs pose any problem at all to your enjoying music or audio content on your Bonephones. I hope this helps. You’ll likely find this method especially useful if you happen to find yourself on a long plane journey and seated next to a disgruntled infant.
I’m actually fairly certain that bone conduction technology was invented during a similar scenario.
Will I be Able to Hear Bone Conduction Headphones Even if I Wear Earplugs?
In some respects, it’s actually preferable. Y’see Nick, using headphones is fine and dandy, until you have to turn the volume all the way up in order to drown out noisy children, busy traffic and/or people shouting into their phones all around you. After that, if you increase the volume to too great a degree, you can expose your ears to sounds that can actually permanently damage your hearing.
Bone conduction, however, carries much less of a risk, because it does not effect the parts of the ear most at risk from loud noises.
Hearing is a process that actually has several stages. At first, your ear picks up sound waves, the sound waves pass into your middle ear (specifically, your auditory canal) before hitting the eardrum. The eardrum then vibrates, passing the sound down to the aforementioned ossicles (‘aforementioned ossicles’ is a lovely phrase, don’t you think?) From there, the ossicles transmit the sound to the cochlea, which is a fluid-filled structure that encodes the sound information in order for our brain to decode it (this is not unlike the way a wireless mouse works, actually).
Yup, the inner ear is a wacky world.
Essentially, bone conduction technology rattles the ossicles in the same way that they’d rattle in your inner ear, it just, to turn a phrase my father is particularly fond of ‘cuts out the middle man’. It really is an interesting invention.
So, as you see, there is no way a pair of earplugs pose any problem at all to your enjoying music or audio content on your Bonephones. I hope this helps. You’ll likely find this method especially useful if you happen to find yourself on a long plane journey and seated next to a disgruntled infant.
I’m actually fairly certain that bone conduction technology was invented during a similar scenario.
Will I be Able to Hear Bone Conduction Headphones Even if I Wear Earplugs?
Bone conducting technology, how this beats any kind of earpiece
Music is a huge element of everyday life and it has been for nearly as long as Human beings have now been on this planet. I often point to the discovery of the 40,000-year-old flute dating back to that ice age as evidence for this, but truthfully, all the facts you may need is all around you, each day. We bear in mind ballads and songs long after the people who initially composed them have died and rotted away (a plan which I find curiously comforting) plus the music industry, love it or hate it, is definitely a big business.
On the other hand, whilst the ice age musicians probably survived during a world of stark cruelty, frozen, unimaginative wastelands and tough, ‘kill or be killed’ inter-cave politics, they never had to contend with road works, transport lorries, screaming children or drunken crowd-rousers on their way to a stag night. Fortunate buggers.
Today’s listener has to accommodate all that and much more, that may make listening to the music not only difficult, but also dangerous.
Now, however, current science has stumbled over a way in which you can still listen to your favourite songs, even if you’re wearing earplugs (no, I have not been sniffing discarded paint cans yet again). It is called skeleton conduction tech and no, despite the slightly odd name, it in truth doesn’t hurt…
Based on recent fields of study, exposure to any sound over 100 Dbm wears away a membrane known as a myelin sheath and leaves your middle ear liable to problems like tinnitus and temporary deafness, which can be the beginning of even more significant problems. Bone conduction technology is made to bypass various sensitive portions of the ear and reduce the risk of inner-ear damage.
How? Well, so as to understand that, we have to first understand how our ears essentially work. (HERE COMES THE SCIENCE-Y BIT) Basically, noise travels though the space, these sound waves are intercepted by quite a few structures within the ear and are finally translated and transmitted into our brains (if it helps, visualize it much like the encoding/decoding of digital information, such as that which guides the movements of the wireless mouse).
The sound waves first meet a bit of cartilage (yes, identical stuff a shark’s skeleton is formed of), which helps to focus the sound, this is named a pinna (but you can call it your outer ear without looking too stupid).
Subsequently, the sound waves pass into your middle ear, it is filled up with air and also contains both your acoustic canal and your eardrum (my little brother burst his when he was little and almost burst mine crying about it). The eardrum vibrates, passing the sound through to the ossicles, that are three small bones (that are actually pretty essential to your sense of steadiness, I’m told). These tiny bones transmit the sound to the cochlea, that’s a fluid-filled structure that ‘encodes’ the signals for our brain to ‘decode’.
Bone conduction tech vibrates the bones of your skull, distributing the sound directly to the cochlea and bypassing the remainder of the ear totally. The nerve impulses transmitted to the brain are precisely the same, but the sensitive mechanism of our ear does not need to deal with the hassle of, to cite Anchorman’s Brick Tamland “LOUD NOISES!”
This process appears to be totally safe; actually, the famously deaf composer Beethoven employed a rudimentary version of this method to be able to compose his most renowned works. He attached a rod between his piano and his head and, as such, was able to listen to the song he was playing.
So here you go, instead of exposing your delicate ears to louder and louder volumes, to drown out the environment noise, you can instead stick your earpugs in and play your music at the appropriate volume. Make no bones about it (groan!)
for more information on the full range of bone conductor earpieces visit
On the other hand, whilst the ice age musicians probably survived during a world of stark cruelty, frozen, unimaginative wastelands and tough, ‘kill or be killed’ inter-cave politics, they never had to contend with road works, transport lorries, screaming children or drunken crowd-rousers on their way to a stag night. Fortunate buggers.
Today’s listener has to accommodate all that and much more, that may make listening to the music not only difficult, but also dangerous.
Now, however, current science has stumbled over a way in which you can still listen to your favourite songs, even if you’re wearing earplugs (no, I have not been sniffing discarded paint cans yet again). It is called skeleton conduction tech and no, despite the slightly odd name, it in truth doesn’t hurt…
Based on recent fields of study, exposure to any sound over 100 Dbm wears away a membrane known as a myelin sheath and leaves your middle ear liable to problems like tinnitus and temporary deafness, which can be the beginning of even more significant problems. Bone conduction technology is made to bypass various sensitive portions of the ear and reduce the risk of inner-ear damage.
How? Well, so as to understand that, we have to first understand how our ears essentially work. (HERE COMES THE SCIENCE-Y BIT) Basically, noise travels though the space, these sound waves are intercepted by quite a few structures within the ear and are finally translated and transmitted into our brains (if it helps, visualize it much like the encoding/decoding of digital information, such as that which guides the movements of the wireless mouse).
The sound waves first meet a bit of cartilage (yes, identical stuff a shark’s skeleton is formed of), which helps to focus the sound, this is named a pinna (but you can call it your outer ear without looking too stupid).
Subsequently, the sound waves pass into your middle ear, it is filled up with air and also contains both your acoustic canal and your eardrum (my little brother burst his when he was little and almost burst mine crying about it). The eardrum vibrates, passing the sound through to the ossicles, that are three small bones (that are actually pretty essential to your sense of steadiness, I’m told). These tiny bones transmit the sound to the cochlea, that’s a fluid-filled structure that ‘encodes’ the signals for our brain to ‘decode’.
Bone conduction tech vibrates the bones of your skull, distributing the sound directly to the cochlea and bypassing the remainder of the ear totally. The nerve impulses transmitted to the brain are precisely the same, but the sensitive mechanism of our ear does not need to deal with the hassle of, to cite Anchorman’s Brick Tamland “LOUD NOISES!”
This process appears to be totally safe; actually, the famously deaf composer Beethoven employed a rudimentary version of this method to be able to compose his most renowned works. He attached a rod between his piano and his head and, as such, was able to listen to the song he was playing.
So here you go, instead of exposing your delicate ears to louder and louder volumes, to drown out the environment noise, you can instead stick your earpugs in and play your music at the appropriate volume. Make no bones about it (groan!)
for more information on the full range of bone conductor earpieces visit
Saturday, 19 April 2014
A bone conducting earpiece, what makes it unique to other types
Music is a large element of everyday life also it may be for almost as long as Human beings have now been on this earth. I often point to a finding of a 40,000-year-old flute dating back to that ice age as evidence for this, but truthfully, all the evidence you’ll need is all around you, every day. We remember ballads and music long after the folks who initially composed them have died and rotted away (a thought which I find curiously reassuring) plus the music industry, like it or hate it, is actually a big business.
On the other hand, while the ice age musicians probably survived during a world of stark brutality, frozen, dull wastelands and harsh, ‘kill or be killed’ inter-cave politics, they by no means had to deal with road works, transport lorries, screaming toddlers or drunken rabble-rousers on their way to the stag evening. Lucky buggers.
Today’s listener has to accommodate all that plus much more, which can make listening to the music not just difficult, but also dangerous.
Now, though, contemporary science has stumbled over a means in which you can still listen to your favorite tunes, even if you’re wearing earplugs (no, I’ve not been sniffing discarded paint cans once more). It’s called bone conduction tech and no, despite the slightly strange name, it in truth doesn’t hurt…
Based on recent fields of study, contact with any noise over 100 Dbm wears away a film known as a myelin sheath and leaves your middle ear prone to problems like tinnitus and temporary deafness, which can be the start of much more momentous problems. Bone conduction technology has been made to bypass the most sensitive parts of your ear and reduce the chance of inner-ear harm.
How? Well, in order to understand that, we have to first understand how our ears actually work. (HERE COMES THE SCIENCE-Y BIT) Basically, sound travels though the air, these sound waves are intercepted by several structures in the ear and are finally translated and transmitted into our brains (if it helps, imagine it like the encoding/decoding of digital information, such as that which guides the actions of a wireless mouse).
The sound waves first encounter a bit of cartilage (yes, the same stuff that a shark’s skeleton is formed of), which allows to focus the sound, this known as a pinna (but you can call it your outer ear without looking too silly).
After that, the sound waves pass into your middle ear, it is filled up with air and also contains both your auditory canal plus your eardrum (my little brother burst his when he was little and almost burst mine crying about it). The eardrum vibrates, passing the sound through to the ossicles, that are three small bones (that are actually pretty necessary to the sense of steadiness, I am told). These tiny bones transmit the signal to the cochlea, that’s a fluid-filled infrastructure that ‘encodes’ the indicators for our noggin to ‘decode’.
Bone conduction technology vibrates the bones of the skull, sending the sound directly to a cochlea and bypassing the remainder of the ear entirely. The nerve impulses transmitted to the mind are exactly the same, but the sensitive instrument of our ear doesn’t need to deal with the hassle of, to cite Anchorman’s Brick Tamland “LOUD NOISES!”
This process appears to be totally safe; in fact, the famously deaf composer Beethoven applied a elementary version of this process in order to compose his most famous works. He attached a rod between his piano and his head and, as such, was able to listen to the music he was playing.
So here you go, rather then exposing your delicate ears to louder and louder volumes, to drown out the background noise, you can instead stick your earpugs in and play your music at the correct volume. Make no bones about it (groan!)
for more information on the full range of bone conductor earpieces visit earpieceonline.co.uk
A bone conducting earpiece, what makes it unique to other types
On the other hand, while the ice age musicians probably survived during a world of stark brutality, frozen, dull wastelands and harsh, ‘kill or be killed’ inter-cave politics, they by no means had to deal with road works, transport lorries, screaming toddlers or drunken rabble-rousers on their way to the stag evening. Lucky buggers.
Today’s listener has to accommodate all that plus much more, which can make listening to the music not just difficult, but also dangerous.
Now, though, contemporary science has stumbled over a means in which you can still listen to your favorite tunes, even if you’re wearing earplugs (no, I’ve not been sniffing discarded paint cans once more). It’s called bone conduction tech and no, despite the slightly strange name, it in truth doesn’t hurt…
Based on recent fields of study, contact with any noise over 100 Dbm wears away a film known as a myelin sheath and leaves your middle ear prone to problems like tinnitus and temporary deafness, which can be the start of much more momentous problems. Bone conduction technology has been made to bypass the most sensitive parts of your ear and reduce the chance of inner-ear harm.
How? Well, in order to understand that, we have to first understand how our ears actually work. (HERE COMES THE SCIENCE-Y BIT) Basically, sound travels though the air, these sound waves are intercepted by several structures in the ear and are finally translated and transmitted into our brains (if it helps, imagine it like the encoding/decoding of digital information, such as that which guides the actions of a wireless mouse).
The sound waves first encounter a bit of cartilage (yes, the same stuff that a shark’s skeleton is formed of), which allows to focus the sound, this known as a pinna (but you can call it your outer ear without looking too silly).
After that, the sound waves pass into your middle ear, it is filled up with air and also contains both your auditory canal plus your eardrum (my little brother burst his when he was little and almost burst mine crying about it). The eardrum vibrates, passing the sound through to the ossicles, that are three small bones (that are actually pretty necessary to the sense of steadiness, I am told). These tiny bones transmit the signal to the cochlea, that’s a fluid-filled infrastructure that ‘encodes’ the indicators for our noggin to ‘decode’.
Bone conduction technology vibrates the bones of the skull, sending the sound directly to a cochlea and bypassing the remainder of the ear entirely. The nerve impulses transmitted to the mind are exactly the same, but the sensitive instrument of our ear doesn’t need to deal with the hassle of, to cite Anchorman’s Brick Tamland “LOUD NOISES!”
This process appears to be totally safe; in fact, the famously deaf composer Beethoven applied a elementary version of this process in order to compose his most famous works. He attached a rod between his piano and his head and, as such, was able to listen to the music he was playing.
So here you go, rather then exposing your delicate ears to louder and louder volumes, to drown out the background noise, you can instead stick your earpugs in and play your music at the correct volume. Make no bones about it (groan!)
for more information on the full range of bone conductor earpieces visit earpieceonline.co.uk
A bone conducting earpiece, what makes it unique to other types
How does bone conduction work?
Bone conduction headphones (commonly referred to as ‘Bonephones’) are actually really clever. In order to best explain how they work, I’ll need to take you on a journey into the Human ear…
No, not literally. That would be disgusting.
OK, so you know how sound travels through the air? Surely you must have done that science experiment at school where you hear sound disappearing into an airless vacuum? Yup, it’s just like that.
Anyway, the sound waves come into contact with your outer ear structure, or pinna. Then, the sounds pass into your middle ear, which is filled with air (obviously). The sound travels through your auditory canal and then your eardrum. Your eardrum then vibrates, an action that passes the sound to your ossicles.
Now, the ossicles are three tiny little inner-ear bones and their job is to translate the sound to the cochlea, a fluid-filled structure that in turn ‘encodes’ the sounds in order for our brains to ‘decode’ and process them.
It’s actually quite a ride, when you think about it.
So, bone conduction headphones bypass the pinna, the auditory canal and the eardrum and take the vibrations directly to your ossicles, quite literally rattling your bones. From there, the ossicles transmit to the cochlea and the process carries on as usual.
That’s basically it.
It is actually a good way to listen to music if you have hearing problems and it has the added bonus of being effective whilst the listener has earplugs in, or even when he/she is underwater.
I had my doubts about the safety of this technology when it was first announced, but it has been out a while now and has been pronounced as safe by medical experts. In all probability, bone conduction is actually better for your ears than regular headphones are.
To quote, um, myself, in an article I published a few months ago:
“According to recent studies, exposure to any noise over 100 decibels wears away a membrane known as the myelin sheath and leaves your inner ear susceptible to problems like tinnitus and temporary deafness, which can be the beginning of even more serious problems. Bone conduction technology has been designed to bypass the most sensitive portions of your ear and reduce the risk of inner-ear damage”.
How does bone conduction work?
Thursday, 17 April 2014
How does bone conduction work?
Bone conduction headphones (commonly referred to as ‘Bonephones’) are actually really clever. In order to best explain how they work, I’ll need to take you on a journey into the Human ear…
No, not literally. That would be disgusting.
OK, so you know how sound travels through the air? Surely you must have done that science experiment at school where you hear sound disappearing into an airless vacuum? Yup, it’s just like that.
Anyway, the sound waves come into contact with your outer ear structure, or pinna. Then, the sounds pass into your middle ear, which is filled with air (obviously). The sound travels through your auditory canal and then your eardrum. Your eardrum then vibrates, an action that passes the sound to your ossicles.
Now, the ossicles are three tiny little inner-ear bones and their job is to translate the sound to the cochlea, a fluid-filled structure that in turn ‘encodes’ the sounds in order for our brains to ‘decode’ and process them.
It’s actually quite a ride, when you think about it.
So, bone conduction headphones bypass the pinna, the auditory canal and the eardrum and take the vibrations directly to your ossicles, quite literally rattling your bones. From there, the ossicles transmit to the cochlea and the process carries on as usual.
That’s basically it.
It is actually a good way to listen to music if you have hearing problems and it has the added bonus of being effective whilst the listener has earplugs in, or even when he/she is underwater.
I had my doubts about the safety of this technology when it was first announced, but it has been out a while now and has been pronounced as safe by medical experts. In all probability, bone conduction is actually better for your ears than regular headphones are.
To quote, um, myself, in an article I published a few months ago:
“According to recent studies, exposure to any noise over 100 decibels wears away a membrane known as the myelin sheath and leaves your inner ear susceptible to problems like tinnitus and temporary deafness, which can be the beginning of even more serious problems. Bone conduction technology has been designed to bypass the most sensitive portions of your ear and reduce the risk of inner-ear damage”.
See more on this here
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