Why do we get annoyed by our own sound in recordings? Why does the sound of your own voice in a recording irritate you? What do you hear while you are speaking?

Why does the sound of our own voice recorded on tape annoy us? Why does the voice seem squeaky, low and not at all ours? How do other people actually hear us? We have collected the answers to these mysterious questions in a new article.

I'm sure you've encountered more than once that your own voice in the recording it seems alien, squeaky, shrill, rough and not at all as melodic as we are used to hearing it in our heads.

The good news is that you are not alone. We're all annoyed by the sound of our own voice on recordings, and there's nothing you can do about it. Another question is, why is this happening and how does the rest of the world actually hear us?

We tried to understand this issue and prepared an article where, in simple and clear language Let us explain to you what happens to the sound of your voice when you hear it from external sources, and not within yourself.

How we perceive sounds

Let's start with a short excursion into anatomy. Our ear is made up of three main parts: outer, middle and inner ear.

  • Outer ear is on the outside of our head and we can see it. It opens ear canal, A eardrum separates this canal from the middle ear.
  • Middle ear includes three bones, which are the main conductors of sound. They amplify and transmit sound to the inner ear.
  • Inner ear- this is the last stop on the way to the brain. It contains the cochlea, which converts sound into a neurological signal and through auditory nerve transmits to the brain.

Any sound we perceive is a series of vibrations. The vibration passes through the three bones of the middle ear and is transmitted to the cochlea.

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What do you hear when you speak

First of all, you need to understand that sound is a series of vibrations. This vibration passes through the bones of the middle ear and reaches the cochlea, after which it enters the brain in the form of a neurological signal.

There are two different ways, by which vibrations can reach our ear:

  • By air. This is how we perceive external noise: music, outside speech and the sound of our own voice in a recording.
  • Through the bones. This is how we perceive internal noise, such as the vibration of our vocal cords.

What happens when you hear a recording of your voice?

In this case, the sounds transmitted through the bones do not reach you, and you only receive the sound transmitted through the air. That is, some of the sounds are lost, and the output you get is an unfamiliar sound.

Why does your own voice annoy you?

This is where your brain played tricks on you cruel joke. It's what's in your head inner voice It can sound whatever you want it to sound like. It may even seem to you that your voice is similar to the voice of Andrei Malakhov or Vera Brezhneva. The irony is that you only person who can hear their voice this way.

In reality, your true voice may be lower and squeaky - in general, not at all the way you are used to hearing it inside yourself. And this difference annoys you. Therefore, I immediately want to apologize for the unpleasant truth, but the voice that you hear in the recording is how the rest of the world hears you.
And if it brings you any consolation, I want to say that we are all sailing in the same boat. None of us like the sound of our own voice on tape, and we can't escape it.