Bone conduction is the conduction of sound to the inner ear primarily through the bones of the skull, allowing the user to perceive audio content without blocking the ear canal. Bone conduction transmission occurs constantly as sound waves vibrate the bone, specifically the bones in the skull, although it is hard for the average individual to distinguish sound being conveyed through the bone as opposed to the sound being conveyed through the air via the ear canal.
Although most sounds are transmitted through the air to our ears, bone-conduction headphones rely on sound being transmitted through vibrations on the bones of the head and jaw. The sound from this headset bypasses the eardrum and relays sound directly to the inner ear.