What is Bone Conduction ? We "use ears for listening" when talking to someone or listening to music. However, this seemingly natural erception is not accurate. Whales living in the ocean have ears inside their bodies where seawater and hydraulic pressures have no effect. Their ears are structured so as to block direct external sounds. In spite of that, whales hear sounds just like other animals. Ludwig van Beethoven became hard of hearing late in life, but the great composer istened to the piano in a way that allowed him to continue writing music. How do whales catch sounds? How did Beethoven listen to music? Whales use the lower jawbone to catch vibrations that travel through water and transmit them to their ears. Beethoven held a baton between his teeth and pressed it sightly against his piano. He listened by transmitting the piano sound vibrations from his teeth to his hearing organs by way of his skull. As these examples show, there are two transmission routes for sounds and voices: the air and bones. Vibrations that reach our ears through the air are known as air-transmitted sound. People normally refer to these vibrations when discussing hearing. Vibrations that reach our ears through bones are called bone-transmitted sound. Thus, sounds and voices reach our ears as vibrations through the air or through our bones and skin.