Can you hear me now?

Bone conduction in hearing is not something new but it is becoming more popular as an alternative way to hear and not just for people that do not have a functional pathway to the eardrum. Ludwig Van Beethoven overcame deafness by biting a metal rod attached to his piano to hear his work. Communication technology has certainly come a long way in this field as well. Baha (bone anchored hearing aids) units work by passing sound from a microphone to a magnet or implant beneath a patient's skin, which is converted into vibrations in the skull and eventually arrives at the inner ear. The bone conduction system offers key safety advantages over traditional earphones, by leaving the user's ears free so that they are not distracted from their environment. It is even possible to drive wearing them, as they comply with the legal requirement to be able to hear on the road. Of course there are security concerns if people around you are about to hear the vibrations. Either way, the voices in your head are real.