If you stop by the Guest Services table in the inner vestibule of the Benedum Center, you may notice a new addition to our accessibility offerings: bone conduction headphones.

For those who are deaf or hard of hearing, this device can be used for sound enhancement or audio description.

Placed on the outside of your ear, bone conduction headphones transmit sound differently than your traditional headphones. The Pennsylvania Ear Institute explains how this technology works:

“Although most sounds are transmitted through the air in eardrums, bone-conduction headphones rely on sound being transmitted through vibrations on the bones of the head and jaw.”

A New Application

Another assistive listening device in our inventory—the Sennheiser “stethoscope”—is a great option for many patrons. However, it does require those with hearing aids to remove them while using the headphones.

Karoline Smith, Accessibility Manager, has been trying to solve this challenge for quite some time.

“We already have traditional headphones, but patrons often prefer to keep their hearing aids in,” she says.

Finally, Smith came to the idea after a visit to Best Buy. While browsing the shelves, she wondered: “Aside from our ear drums, how else do we hear?”

The answer, she realized, was through bone.

From Beethoven to Bluetooth

Interestingly, the concept of bone conduction was discovered centuries ago by famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven, says the Pennsylvania Ear Institute.

“By biting his composer’s wand and pressing it against his piano, he could transmit the audio waves into physical vibrations.”

Today, bone conduction headphones are easy to find in most electronic stores. They’re popular with people who exercise outdoors because the design allows them to listen to music or podcasts while still hearing traffic and other outside noises.

You probably haven’t seen this equipment in theaters, though.

“I've never heard of a theater offering this, just us,” says Karoline Smith, Accessibility Manger.

Listening Made Easier

Using the bone conduction headphones is simple. All you need is the Mobile Connect app on your phone and access to Bluetooth. Once you connect, you can select either Channel 1 for audio description or Channel 2 for sound enhancement. If you use the Sennheiser headphones on Channel 2, you can use the bone conduction headphones at the same time on Channel 1.

Once you get set up, you can sit back, relax, and listen!