The relief I get when my ears are free as a gamer when I don’t have to worry about ear fatigue makes me love Bone Conduction headphones. But with the continuous use of bone conduction headphones for gaming and music, it ends up with minor headaches and irritation. The bone conduction headphones headache issue is not that impactful, but you can not ignore it.
As you know, bone conduction headphones do not block the entrance to the ear canal as traditional headphones do. Also, they do not produce the feeling of suction that traditional headphones do, which can be highly uncomfortable.
However, you remember that, unfortunately, any headphones can cause headaches, including vibration headphones. Due to the sensitive temples of human beings, wearing bone-conduction headphones can also be very uncomfortable. Let’s get into details and learn how they work and whether they cause headaches.
Will I Feel Headache if I Wear Bone Conduction Headphones?
Bone conduction headphones bypass the external and middle ear leading directly to the inner ear using the cheekbone as the medium. These headsets depend solely on the cochlea, which further passes signals to the brain that decodes into hearable sounds.
The bone conduction headphones placement is far from your ears, so you are less likely to experience headaches caused by pressure on the head or ears. Furthermore, this also helps reduce the chances of getting an ear infection.
In the long run, bone-conduction headphones can give you a headache by exerting a slight amount of pressure on the head through prolonged use. Although using bone conduction earphones may not suit everyone, you’re not likely to suffer headaches from such headphones instead of over-ear or on-ear headphones.
Because your ears are exposed, ambient noise usually disrupts the sound you receive through your headphones, which is why the clarity of the sound isn’t as good as when using regular headphones.
Bone conduction headphones can produce relatively low sound levels if you want to view them positively. The bone conduction headphones are unlike traditional headphones because they do not adversely affect your ears at those levels when the volume is high.
It is also important to note that the loudest volume of bone conduction headphones is also less than traditional headphones, so there is less chance of ear damage with loud volume.
Bone Conduction Headphones EMF
A study using bone-conduction hearing implants found that exposure to EMF at 13.56 MHz emitted from RFID HF readers may cause statistically significant increases in localized SAR values.
Hearing implants may make it unsafe to be near RFID HF readers, primarily due to their work, when exposed to EMF levels that exceed or are comparable to the limits for protecting the general public.
Bone Conduction Headphones Jaw Pain
One of the other bone conduction headphones’ pros and cons is that they cause jaw pains and skull irritations. The lower jaw is only loosely coupled with the skull by the temporomandibular joint, so bone conduction stimulates auditory sensations.
Thus, bone vibrations are transmitted to the temporal-petrous bone entirely through the bone in the ‘classical’ bone conduction pathway. But with the continuous use of the AfterShokz Aeropex, I felt pain and sensations in my jaws.
Therefore, if you have a relatively low battery backup, it will also help you utilize the headphone for a shorter time. Ultimately, this will reduce your chances of having headaches.
Are Bone Conduction headphones safer for your ears?
If you are concerned about whether bone conduction headphones are safe, then you better know that they do not directly impact the eardrum and rest on the temples. When wearing, you may experience some side effects of bone conduction headphones because they reside in the temporal area of the head.
These headsets cause headaches when the vibrations on the cheekbones pass to the cochlea. Some users feel dizzy or have bone conduction headphones vertigo because of the continuous vibrations.
Conclusion
Bone conduction headphones provide situational awareness but remember, everything has pros and cons. You should be aware that if you use bone-conduction headphones for an extended period, you may experience headaches.