How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a swim-proof bone conduction headphone with built-in music storage for long shifts and laps, choose MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming; if you need a call-first headset with a boom mic, mute button and dual-device pairing for nurses, choose Hostena Open-Ear Headphones.
• MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming — biggest strength: IP68 waterproofing plus 32 GB of onboard MP3 storage, so it keeps playing when Bluetooth can't reach you (underwater).
• MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming — biggest trade-off: No noise control and no microphone boom, so it's a listening-first tool rather than a call tool.
• Hostena Open-Ear Headphones — biggest strength: A rotatable boom mic with AI ENC noise cancellation, one-click mute and Bluetooth 6.0 dual-device connection.
• Hostena Open-Ear Headphones — biggest trade-off: No waterproofing rating, no onboard music memory, and a plastic build.
• Who each pick is for: MARLALL for swimmers, runners and anyone who wants music without a phone nearby; Hostena for drivers, learners, nurses and anyone who lives on calls.
MARLALL's S800 is built around one idea: keep the sound going when everything else stops. The driver is bone conduction, so nothing sits inside your ear canal — vibrations travel through your cheekbones instead. That's the whole reason open ear earbuds for nurses and other long-shift workers make sense: you hear the room, the call bell, the monitor alarm, and your music at the same time. Nothing is sealed off.
Then there's the 32 GB of built-in memory. That's the detail that separates this model from almost everything else in the category. Bluetooth 5.4 only reaches about 10 meters and simply won't travel through water, so MARLALL gives you an MP3 mode you switch to when you get in the pool. With roughly 8,000 songs of storage, you can leave the phone in the locker and still have a full playlist for a swim session. It also means no pairing dance, no dead phone, no dropped signal.
The soft silicone enclosure and the adjustable straps are the comfort story. At 22.68 g (listed as 29 g in the description), it's light enough to forget about, and the open-ear shape means no pressure on the ear canal over a long day. The trade-offs are real, though: there's no noise control at all, no boom microphone, and the turquoise silicone look is sporty rather than office-neutral. If your priority is taking calls in a loud environment, this isn't the one. Skip it if you need a microphone you can position near your mouth.
Hostena's DG10 is the opposite bet. It's a communication device first. The star of the spec sheet is the freely rotatable boom microphone — you can swing it to the angle that picks up your voice best, which matters a lot when you're talking in a car, a warehouse or a noisy ward. Paired with AI ENC noise cancellation, the design intent is to filter out wind, traffic and general background clamor so the person on the other end hears you rather than the room.
The one-click mute is the feature I'd actually use daily. Press a button and you're off. No digging through software settings, no fumbling. For anyone whose job involves sudden confidential conversations — or who just needs to sneeze without an audience — that's a genuinely practical button placement.
Connection-wise, Hostena lists Bluetooth 6.0 with a 33-foot range and dual-device pairing, so you can be linked to a work phone and a personal phone at once and switch between them. Battery life is quoted at 24 hours with a 1-hour charge time, which covers a long shift comfortably. The build is plastic and black, with no waterproof rating listed, and there's no onboard music storage. Comfort comes from the lightweight open-ear fit and the bone conduction driver, which avoids eardrum pressure the way in-ear buds can't. Buy it if your day is calls. Skip it if you swim.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for swimming and water → MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming. IP68 waterproofing with an MP3 mode that works where Bluetooth can't.
• Best for battery life → Hostena Open-Ear Headphones. 24 hours of average life and a 1-hour charge, versus no battery figure listed for MARLALL.
• Best for music without a phone → MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming. 32 GB of onboard storage, around 8,000 songs.
• Best for juggling two devices → Hostena Open-Ear Headphones. Dual-device connection with Bluetooth 6.0.
• Best for a swimmer who also takes calls → neither perfectly. MARLALL has no mic boom; Hostena has no waterproof rating. Pick based on which failure hurts more.
• Best for runners, cyclists and hikers → MARLALL Liquid Silicone Swimming. Open-ear safety, light build, IP68 against sweat and rain.
• Best for drivers, learners and shift workers on the phone → Hostena Open-Ear Headphones. That's the use case the design is clearly aimed at.
If I had to pick one, I'd buy the Hostena Open-Ear Headphones — for one reason. Most people, most days, need a microphone more than they need a pool. The rotatable boom, ENC noise cancellation, one-click mute and 24-hour battery cover the calls, the shift and the commute, and dual-device pairing means it follows you between a work phone and a personal one. In my opinion, that's the more useful tool for nurses, drivers and anyone on the phone all day. The MARLALL is the better specialist, and if you swim, it wins outright — but for a single everyday headset, the Hostena does more of the jobs I'd actually ask it to do.
how to bone conduction earphones work
A bone conduction driver vibrates against your cheekbone instead of pushing sound into your ear canal, and those vibrations reach your inner ear directly. That's why both of these models leave your ears open — you hear your music and the world around you at once. MARLALL's driver is rated 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.
how to wear bone conduction earphones
The transducer sits against your cheekbone, just in front of your ear, with the band or straps holding it there. MARLALL uses adjustable straps so it stays put without slipping; Hostena uses a lightweight open-ear frame and a boom arm you rotate toward your mouth. Neither goes inside your ear canal.
how to use bone conduction earphones
Pair over Bluetooth and play as normal — MARLALL uses Bluetooth 5.4 with a 10-meter range, Hostena uses Bluetooth 6.0 with a 33-foot range and dual-device pairing. For swimming, MARLALL switches to its 32 GB MP3 mode, because Bluetooth won't transmit underwater. Hostena's controls are push-button, including the one-click mute.
how are bone conduction earphones different for nurses
They leave the ear canal open, so you keep hearing patients, alarms and colleagues while audio plays — that's the main appeal of open ear earbuds for nurses. Hostena adds the call-side tools nurses need: an ENC noise-canceling boom mic, one-click mute and 24-hour battery. MARLALL brings IP68 waterproofing and onboard music, which suits shift workers who want audio without a phone.
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