Chapter 1
The heavy-duty pioneers
Chapter 2
The sound of freedom
Chapter 3
The science of silence
Chapter 4
Bypassing the eardrum
YOUR GOAL
Master of How headphones changed the way we hear the world
Ch 4 · Bypassing the eardrum
joy When you turn your head, software adjusts the volume in each ear to make the sound feel stationary.
joy A classical fresco portrait shows a figure wearing modern transducers on their temples.
BETA
joy Direct sound waves through the skull to discover how bone conduction bypasses the eardrum.
Fun Fact
Skeletal stereo: Marine mammals like dolphins and whales naturally use bone conduction to hear underwater, vibrating their jawbones to sense sound waves in the ocean!
Glossary
bone conduction (noun)
The transmission of sound vibrations to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. Ludwig van Beethoven famously bit a rod attached to his piano to perceive musical vibrations.
The transmission of sound vibrations to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. Ludwig van Beethoven famously bit a rod attached to his piano to perceive musical vibrations.
Quiz
In what year did the FDA approve the sale of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, merging them with consumer earbud tech?
Quiz
Which bone in the human skull is primarily responsible for transmitting sound in bone conduction?
Quiz
What technology uses sensors to track your head movements and keep audio anchored in a specific 3D space?