Running with music has gotten easier since the invention of bluetooth, but it was still a battle to find headphones that stay firmly in place. I’d like to share my story of how I discovered Aftershokz headphones at the perfect moment in my running journey.
Last year I was traveling for work when I answered a call and realized I could not hear the person speaking on the other end. I quickly moved the phone over to my right ear and finished the conversation. This experience was extremely jarring so I set up time with a hearing specialist. A few doctor’s appointments and hearing tests later I was diagnosed with otosclerosis, a genetic hearing disorder that is most common in females in their mid-twenties. I fit the description perfectly! I decided to undergo a surgery to replace one of the bones in my left ear and thankfully, my hearing improved post-surgery. However, this condition is something that I will have to deal with for the rest of my life. I will likely need the same surgery in my right ear and it’s starting to affect parts of the inner ear that surgeries cannot fix.
As a young woman I take safety very seriously when running. I was concerned that with my hearing impairment I would not be able to wear headphones while running ever again. I did not want to further impair my hearing with in-ear headphones and risk not being able to hear cars or people approaching. That’s when I discovered Aftershokz! I tried them out for the first time at a marathon expo and I bought a pair on the spot. I’m actually able to hear through Aftershokz headphones better than normal in-ear headphones because the bone conduction technology circumnavigates the bones in my ears that cause my hearing impairment. The best part is that I can still hear traffic when I’m running outside which makes me (and my worried mom) more confident that I’ll come home from my runs safely.
I have a pair of the Aftershokz Air wireless headphones in forest green. I’ve done all of my training (including gym workouts) and races in these over the past year. I highly recommend checking them out here if you’re considering purchasing a new pair of headphones that are high quality and comfortable, and will stay charged for those long runs!
–MaryLynn