Talk:Bone conduction

The story of Beethoven clenching a stick that is attached to the piano has a fundamental truth. With the disease Otosclerosis the bones of the middle ear are fused and do not transmit sound but the cochlea and auditory nerve are intact. So if you stimulate the cochlea directly - as with a bone conducted stimuli - the listener has good auditory reception. So Beethoven would have heard the piano well listening in that manner. — Preceding unsigned comment added by UIowagrad (talk • contribs) 15:57, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

Beethoven's ruler ?
I vaguely remember reading that Beethoven used a ruler (wooden cylinder ~12" x 0.5" dia.) held between his teeth to touch the piano to 'hear' himself playing ?
 * Maybe it was in a Charlie Brown cartoon ?
 * Thayer - Life of Beethoven ? Only part of it seems to be freely searchable online. Does anyone have better access ? False citation ?
 * Google Books finds
 * There are stories that Beethoven would clench a stick in his teeth, placing the other end on the piano to feel the vibrations, but these tales seem to be imaginary.
 * I give up - does anyone have ready access to the Beethoven museum - many hearing-aids on display, but all seem to be Ear trumpets
 * Ooh! Captcha was 'noisesolid' !

--195.137.93.171 (talk) 13:39, 10 December 2011 (UTC)

While I really wanted it to be true, digging deep through various publications, I found no credible source to this story (and some refutations, such as this book) Shvecht (talk) 14:28, 3 November 2020 (UTC)

Dubious health benefits
The reference for the reported health benefits is just an online store, no reliable source provided. The claim is that bone conducting headphones are safer than earbuds as they don't vibrate the eardrum. But my understanding is that most hearing damage is the result of damage to cochlear hairs, about which no claim is made regarding bone conductors. Any primary sources on health benefits? 87.194.119.158 (talk) 08:29, 27 March 2012 (UTC)


 * It's a very poor source. I am removing it. Binksternet (talk) 14:34, 27 March 2012 (UTC)


 * The eardrum and the bones behind it function also as a fuse / insurance against damage to cochlear hairs; in the air pathway, vibrations that reach the cochlear hairs are dampened thanks to the tympanic reflex (contracting the muscles of the inner ear, the tensor tympani and the stapedius), as long as these noises do not surge quicker than 40 ms. (most natural sounds including thunder). I am not aware of any similar mechanism on the bone pathway. I suspect therefore that listening to loud music long time, using a bone conduction earphone is not good for the cochlear hairs. Any thoughts/references? Cobanyastigi (talk) 10:09, 6 July 2015 (UTC)

COI editing
Article has been subject to article by a WP:PROMO sockpuppet, Josabeth, as well as other SPA editors with possible COIs. Jytdog (talk) 11:17, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

Bone conduction demo
About this edit The paragraph that has thus been removed for lack of source was a suggestion for a demonstration of bone conduction. I have been shown this by someone else. I later showed it to several other people that were amazed at the difference they heard. I do not remember this to be written anywhere else. It is folk lore. How do you source folk lore? In this article about hearing it is difficult to explain that difference with text, picture, or recordings. I thought this would be a neat illustration that anybody with access to a stringed instrument can try. Do illustrations need source? It does not mislead or lie, just suggests an action in order to better appreciate the phenomenon. Do suggestions need source? It does not violate any third parties rights. It could be criticized for not warning about tooth damage or instrument varnish damage. It could be criticized for being low key about how dramatic a difference one hears. I am sorry if I came across as "edit warring" in the comment of the subsequent edit. I should have written this first. I believe not every sentence in Wikipedia needs a source. This, in my opinion, is clearly one of those which do not. Let us not sacrifice positive contributions to cognitive dissonance. Let us restore it.:-) Cobanyastigi (talk) 19:19, 2 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Please actually read WP:OR - it is not allowed here. Jytdog (talk) 20:21, 2 July 2015 (UTC)

Hearing aids
The description of hearing aids using bone conduction is not really up to date. Look at BAHA for example to see how this works nowadays. --88.65.70.11 (talk) 18:37, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 05:22, 19 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Bone Conduction Head Phone.jpg

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 15:09, 24 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Diagram comparing bone conduction to air conduction.jpg