Open Ear Headphones Explained: Are They Good For Running?

If you have noticed more runners wearing headphones that seem to sit outside their ears rather than inside them, there is a good chance they are using open ear headphones. They are becoming an increasingly popular option for running, particularly for people who want to listen to music, podcasts or audio coaching without completely blocking their ears.

Open ear headphones can be confusing. Some use bone conduction technology, while others use small speakers positioned close to the ear, and there are now several different designs that can look very different from one another. So what exactly are open ear headphones, how do they work and are they a good choice for running?

What Are Open Ear Headphones?

Open ear headphones are designed to let you listen to audio while leaving your ear canal unobstructed. Unlike conventional in ear earbuds, they do not rely on an ear tip sitting inside the ear canal and creating a seal.

There are different ways of achieving this. Many newer open ear headphones use small speakers positioned close to the entrance of the ear and deliver sound through the air, while bone conduction headphones use vibrations transmitted through the bones around the ear towards the inner ear.

This means that "open ear" does not describe one particular audio technology. It is better thought of as a broad type of headphone that keeps the ear canal open, with air conduction and bone conduction being two different approaches used within the category.

How Do Open Ear Air Conduction Headphones Work?

Open ear air conduction headphones use speakers, but rather than putting those speakers inside your ears, they position them close to the ear and direct sound towards the ear canal. The sound then travels through the air in the conventional way.

The positioning of the speaker is important because there is no physical seal around the ear. Manufacturers therefore use different speaker designs, positioning and sound processing technology to direct the audio towards the listener while trying to limit the amount of sound that escapes.

These headphones can use several different physical designs. Some wrap around the ear with a hook, some use a band connecting the two sides, while others clip onto the outer ear in a design that can look very different from conventional sports headphones.

How Is Bone Conduction Different?

Bone conduction headphones also leave the ear canal open, but they deliver audio in a different way. Transducers normally rest against the area around the cheekbones and create vibrations that are transmitted through bone towards the inner ear.

This is why bone conduction headphones from brands such as Shokz and Suunto can correctly be described as open ear headphones. However, not every open ear headphone uses bone conduction, and this is where much of the confusion surrounding the terminology comes from.

If you have previously tried bone conduction headphones and did not like the sensation or sound, that does not necessarily mean you will dislike open ear air conduction headphones. Although both approaches leave your ears open, the listening experience can be noticeably different.

Why Are Open Ear Headphones Becoming Popular With Runners?

The biggest attraction for runners is the combination of audio and greater access to environmental sound. You can listen to music or a podcast while still allowing traffic, cyclists, other runners, announcements and conversations to reach your ears naturally.

There can also be a comfort advantage. Not everybody likes having earbuds sitting inside their ears for an hour or more, particularly during long runs when heat and sweat can make them uncomfortable.

Open ear headphones remove that plugged up feeling because nothing is sealing the ear canal. For runners who have repeatedly struggled to find comfortable in ear headphones, that alone can make them an interesting alternative.

Are Open Ear Headphones Safer For Running?

Open ear headphones can help you maintain greater awareness of your surroundings, but it would be misleading to describe any headphones as automatically safe for running. Leaving your ears open gives environmental sounds a better opportunity to reach you, but you still need to pay attention to what is happening around you.

Volume is particularly important. Play music loudly enough and it can still mask approaching vehicles, bicycle bells or someone trying to warn you, even though your ear canal remains open.

Traffic, wind and other background noise can also tempt you to increase the volume to compensate. Open ear headphones should therefore be viewed as a way of maintaining greater access to environmental sound rather than as a substitute for situational awareness.

What Do Open Ear Headphones Sound Like?

Sound quality has improved considerably, but open ear headphones create a different listening environment from conventional in ear earbuds. Because there is no seal around the ear canal, outside sounds remain part of what you hear.

Producing powerful bass can also be more difficult with an open design. If your main priority is immersive music with strong bass and isolation from your surroundings, good conventional earbuds may still be more suitable.

For running, however, ultimate sound quality may not be the priority. Podcasts, audiobooks, training instructions and music can work very well when you simply want audio to accompany your run rather than completely dominate the experience.

Can Other People Hear Your Music?

Sound leakage is possible with air conduction open ear headphones because a speaker is producing sound outside your ear. Manufacturers use different acoustic designs to direct as much of that sound as possible towards the listener, but some leakage can still occur, particularly at higher volumes.

This is unlikely to be a major concern for most runners outdoors, where there is already plenty of background noise. It may become more noticeable if you also intend to use your headphones in an office, on public transport or somewhere particularly quiet.

What About Wind Noise?

Wind is one of the challenges of using headphones outdoors, and an open design does not isolate you from it. A strong headwind can compete with your music or podcast and make quieter audio more difficult to hear.

This is another reason why running headphones should not be judged entirely by how they sound when you try them indoors. Running exposes them to wind, traffic, sweat and constant movement, which creates a very different listening environment.

Some sports headphones incorporate technology intended to reduce the effect of wind on calls or audio performance. However, runners who regularly train in exposed locations should still consider wind performance when choosing a pair.

Do Open Ear Headphones Stay In Place When Running?

A good sports model should remain secure, but the design makes a significant difference. Ear hook models wrap around the ear, while clip style headphones attach to the outer ear and some designs use a band connecting the two sides behind the head.

Fit is particularly important because an air conduction speaker needs to remain correctly positioned relative to your ear. If it moves significantly while you run, the volume and sound quality you experience can change.

Runners who wear glasses or sunglasses should also consider how an ear hook design interacts with the arms of their glasses. Add a running cap, winter hat or cycling helmet and there can be several pieces of equipment competing for space around your ears.

Are Open Ear Headphones Comfortable On Long Runs?

For some runners, comfort is one of the strongest reasons for choosing an open ear design. There is no silicone ear tip creating pressure inside the ear canal, which can make them particularly attractive for long training sessions and marathon running.

Moving the headphone outside the ear does not automatically guarantee comfort, though. Ear hooks can create pressure behind the ear, while clip style models need enough grip to remain secure without becoming uncomfortable.

Weight and pressure distribution become increasingly important the longer you wear them. A design that feels perfectly comfortable during a five minute trial may feel very different after two or three hours of running.

What Happens In Busy Or Noisy Places?

One of the main advantages of open ear headphones can also become their biggest weakness. Because environmental sound is deliberately allowed in, heavy traffic or a crowded city centre can overwhelm your audio.

You may then find yourself increasing the volume to hear a podcast clearly, which starts to undermine one of the reasons for choosing an open design. Open ear headphones generally make most sense when you want audio to accompany your surroundings rather than completely shut them out.

This also means the same headphones can perform very differently depending on where you run. A quiet park, canal path or country lane provides a very different listening environment from a busy urban road.

Sweat And Water Resistance Matter

Any headphones intended for regular running need to cope with sweat and the occasional wet run. You should look at the manufacturer's IP rating rather than assuming that headphones described as sports models are automatically suitable for rain or heavy sweating.

Different IP ratings indicate different levels of protection, and not every water resistant headphone is designed to be submerged. Runners should therefore check the manufacturer's guidance for the particular model and make sure its level of protection matches how they intend to use it.

This becomes especially important if you want headphones for activities beyond running. A pair designed to survive sweat and rain is not necessarily suitable for swimming.

Battery Life Is Particularly Important For Distance Runners

Battery life is easy to overlook until you start using headphones for longer training sessions. Someone running for 30 minutes has very different requirements from a runner completing a three hour long run or spending five or six hours on a marathon course.

Manufacturer battery figures can vary according to volume, features and usage conditions, so it makes sense to leave yourself some margin. Choosing headphones whose maximum claimed battery life only just covers your expected marathon time is unnecessarily risky.

Charging arrangements are worth considering as well. Some models use a charging case, while others charge directly, and quick charging features can be extremely useful when you realise shortly before a run that you forgot to charge them.

Think About The Controls

Running provides a surprisingly demanding test of headphone controls. You may need to pause your audio, change the volume, answer a call or skip a track while moving and possibly while wearing gloves.

Some headphones use touch sensitive controls while others provide physical buttons. Neither approach is automatically better, but controls that are easy to operate while sitting at home can become frustrating when your hands are sweaty and you are halfway through a long run.

Think about how frequently you actually interact with your headphones during a run. If you regularly change the volume as you move between quiet paths and busy roads, convenient controls may be more important than you initially expect.

The Suunto Spark open ear headphones

Which Brands Make Open Ear Headphones?

Shokz is one of the names most familiar to runners in the open ear market. The company became particularly well known for its bone conduction sports headphones and has subsequently expanded into open ear air conduction products, giving runners examples of both approaches from the same brand.

Suunto is another particularly relevant name for runners and outdoor athletes, and its headphone range demonstrates more than one approach to open ear listening. Products such as the Suunto Wing 2 use bone conduction technology while leaving the ear canal open, while the Suunto Spark uses an open ear earbud design, giving runners another alternative to conventional in ear headphones.

Bose takes a different approach with its Ultra Open Earbuds. These use air conduction and a cuff style design that sits around the side of the ear rather than sealing the ear canal, demonstrating how different an open ear headphone can look from the band designs runners may already associate with the category.

JBL also produces open ear air conduction headphones, including sports oriented designs that use ear hooks to position the speakers close to the ears. Huawei has developed clip style open ear headphones (pictured at the top of this article), while Sony has also produced open designs intended to allow surrounding sound to reach the listener rather than completely isolating the ear.

The category is developing quickly and more manufacturers are introducing open ear designs. Brand recognition can be useful, but runners should pay more attention to a particular model's fit, water resistance, battery life and suitability for exercise than simply choosing the most familiar name.

Open Ear Air Conduction Vs Bone Conduction

Both approaches leave your ear canal open, but the way they deliver audio is fundamentally different. Air conduction models use speakers positioned close to your ears and send sound through the air, while bone conduction headphones use transducers that transmit vibrations through bone towards the inner ear.

Neither technology is automatically better for every runner. Air conduction models may appeal to people who prefer a more conventional speaker based listening experience, while bone conduction headphones have become established among runners and other outdoor athletes who value an unobstructed ear canal and secure sports focused designs.

Fit, comfort and sound are personal, so trying one technology does not necessarily tell you whether you will like the other. The important point is to understand which type you are buying rather than assuming all products labelled "open ear" work in the same way.

Open Ear Headphones Vs Earbuds

Traditional wireless earbuds sit in or at the ear canal, and many use silicone tips to create a seal. This can provide greater isolation from outside noise and often produces a more immersive listening experience with stronger bass.

Many modern earbuds also offer transparency or ambient modes. These use microphones and electronics to feed external sound into your ears, which is a different approach from physically leaving the ear canal unobstructed.

For runners, the choice is therefore not simply about which technology produces the best sound. It is about deciding how much connection you want with your surroundings, how important audio isolation is and which design you find most comfortable when running.

Read more about choosing headphones here.

What Should Runners Look For When Buying Open Ear Headphones?

Start with fit rather than becoming distracted by a long specification list. Headphones that sound excellent but move around or become uncomfortable after 40 minutes are unlikely to be a good running purchase.

Consider how securely they sit, whether they work with your glasses and running hat, their sweat and water resistance, battery life and how easily you can operate the controls while moving. If you run in busy places, think about whether they provide sufficient speech and music clarity without forcing you to use excessive volume.

Weight can become important on longer runs, while runners who regularly make calls may also want to investigate microphone performance in windy conditions. The best open ear headphones for running are not necessarily those with the longest list of features, but those that remain secure and comfortable throughout the type of running you actually do.

Are Open Ear Headphones Good For Running?

For many runners, open ear headphones offer a useful balance between listening to audio and remaining connected to what is happening around them. They can also solve one of the biggest problems some runners have with conventional earbuds by removing the need to put anything inside the ear canal.

Their biggest strength is also the reason they will not suit everybody. Traffic, wind, conversations and other external sounds remain part of the listening experience, and runners who want to disappear into their music may find that frustrating.

Most importantly, open ear headphones should not be confused with one particular technology. Bone conduction and open ear air conduction provide different ways of keeping the ear canal unobstructed, giving runners more choice when deciding how they want to listen on the move.

If conventional earbuds have always felt uncomfortable, or you want to hear more of your surroundings without giving up your music and podcasts, open ear headphones are certainly worth considering for your next run.

Read more about running in headphones here.