Many people feel uncomfortable listening to their own recorded voice. This happens because, when we hear our voice through a recorder, we notice that it sounds different from what we're used to hearing. This is due to the way sound propagates in the environment, making our voice sound deeper and less resonant than we're used to hearing when we speak. This difference between the perception of our voice when speaking and when listening to it recorded can cause strangeness and discomfort, leading many people to dislike the way they sound when they record.
Why doesn't our recorded voice please our ears?
When we listen to our recorded voice, we're often surprised and even disappointed by what we hear. This is because when we speak, the sound of our voice is transmitted through the air and also through the bones in our head, causing us to perceive it differently than other people. This difference in perception makes our recorded voice unpleasant to our ears.
Furthermore, when we listen to our recorded voice, we often notice details that we don't notice when speaking, such as the sound quality, the pronunciation of certain words, and even the tone of voice. These details can feel strange and make us dislike what we hear.
Another factor contributing to our dissatisfaction with our recorded voice is the fact that we're accustomed to hearing our own voice internally. That is, when we speak, the sound we hear is modified by the vibrations of the bones in our head. This creates a distorted perception of our voice, which differs from the one captured and recorded by an audio device.
Therefore, the difference between how we hear our voice internally and how it's recorded and reproduced by an audio device is the main reason we dislike the sound of our own recorded voice. It's important to remember that this perception is natural, and most people tend to feel the same way when listening to their own recorded voice.
Why does voice sound different in audio recordings?
When we listen to our recorded voice, we're often surprised by how different it sounds from what we're used to hearing. This happens because when we speak, the sound we produce travels not only through the air to our ears, but also through the tissues of our body, such as bones and muscles.
This combination of externally and internally produced sounds creates the voice we're accustomed to hearing. However, when we listen to a recording of our own voice, we're only hearing the sound that traveled through the air, without the influence of internal tissues. This makes our voice sound higher-pitched and less resonant than we're used to, which can be strange and uncomfortable for many people.
Furthermore, recording equipment can also affect how our voice is reproduced. Microphones, speakers, and audio quality can distort our voice, making it sound even more different than we're used to.
Therefore, it's important to remember that our recorded voice doesn't necessarily reflect how we actually sound to others. It's natural to dislike the way our voice sounds recorded, but it's important not to worry too much about it, as everyone perceives their own voice differently.
Is it common to experience hearing fatigue when constantly listening to your own voice?
Yes, it's common to experience hearing fatigue from constantly listening to your own voice. This occurs because when we speak, the sound of our voice vibrates not only in the air, but also inside our skull. This internal vibration causes us to miss some of the nuances and details that others hear when listening to us. Therefore, when we hear our recorded voice, it sounds different from what we're used to hearing in our own head, which can feel strange and even uncomfortable.
Furthermore, constant exposure to our recorded voice can lead to auditory fatigue, as the brain has to work harder to process a sound it doesn't recognize as its own. This can result in feelings of fatigue or irritation when listening to our recorded voice repeatedly.
Therefore, it's important to remember that the way we perceive our recorded voice may be different from the way others hear it, and this difference can cause discomfort. It's natural to dislike the way our recorded voice sounds, but it's important to accept this difference and get used to it.
Discover how to recognize your true voice and hear yourself clearly and authentically.
Have you ever stopped to think why we don't like the way our voices sound when recorded? Often, when we listen to a recording, we don't recognize ourselves and feel uncomfortable. This happens because when we speak, sound travels not only through the air but also through the bones in our head, which causes us to hear our voice differently than others do.
To recognize your true voice and hear yourself clearly and authentically, it's important to get used to the sound of your own recorded voice. This can be done by recording voice messages, making videos, or even practicing public speaking. Over time, you'll get used to it and learn to listen to yourself more objectively.
Another important tip is to pay attention to your voice when speaking. Often, out of nervousness or insecurity, we end up altering our intonation and speaking speed. By focusing on speaking clearly and slowly, you'll be able to hear your voice more clearly and authentically.
So, if you don't like the way your voice sounds on record, don't worry. With practice and attention, you can recognize your true voice and hear yourself clearly and authentically. Remember that your voice is unique and part of your identity.
Why don't we like the recorded sound of our voice?
This happens often. Someone records us and when we hear our own voice , an unpleasant feeling invades us, a mixture of shame and disgust when we realize that, curiously, what appears does not resemble what we say.
Furthermore, this is becoming more common. As voice messaging and social media become more popular, it's becoming increasingly common to have to deal with that awful noise that is our recorded voice. An unclear, sometimes shaky, and curiously monotonous tone of voice that doesn't do us justice. Thinking that this is what others hear when we vibrate our vocal cords is quite discouraging.
But… why does this happen? Where is this mixture of our shame and that of others that we usually notice when we listen to our recorded voice? The cause is psychological.
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Listening to our own voice
The first thing to keep in mind to understand this phenomenon is that, even if we don't realize it, the human brain is constantly learning what our voice sounds like. It's quite easy, since most people use their vocal cords a lot throughout the day, so our nervous system is monitoring what that sound is like, creating a kind of imaginary "average" of how our voice sounds. fixed to our self-concept in real time .
And what is self-concept? It is precisely what the word indicates: the concept of oneself. It is an abstract idea of one's identity and therefore overlaps with many other concepts. For example, if we believe we are confident in ourselves, this idea will be very close to our self-concept, and possibly the same will happen, for example, with an animal with which we identify: the wolf, for example. If our identity is closely linked to the country where we were born, all the ideas linked to this concept will also be part of the self-concept: its cuisine, its landscapes, its traditional music, etc.
In short, self-concept is made up of ideas and stimuli that reach us through all our senses: images, tactile sensations, sounds…
Comparing the recording with what we heard
Thus, our voice is one of the most important stimuli for our self-concept. If we woke up tomorrow with a completely different voice, we would immediately notice it and possibly suffer an identity crisis, even if this new tone of voice were fully functional. While we hear our vocal cords all the time, this sound has deep roots in our identity and, in turn, we learn to adjust it to all sensations and concepts that make up the self-concept.
Now… is it really our voice that we internalize as if it were part of us? Yes and no. Partly yes, because sound comes from the vibration of our vocal cords and is what we use to speak and express our views and our vision of the world itself. But at the same time, no, because the sound our brain registers is not just our voice , but a mixture of that and many other things.
What we are doing when we listen to ourselves in a normal context is, in fact, listening to the sound of our vocal cords muffled and amplified by our own body : cavities, muscles, bones, etc. We perceive it differently than any other sound, because it comes from within.
And what happens to the recordings?
However, when our voice is recorded, we hear it the same way we would hear anyone else's voice: we record the waves that our eardrums pick up and then travel to the auditory nerve. There are no shortcuts, and our bodies don't amplify this sound any more than they would any other noise.
What really happens is that these types of recordings involve a blow to our self-concept, since we see one of the central ideas on which our identity is built questioned: that our voice is X, and not Y.
In its turn, this pillar's questioning of one's identity makes others stagger This new sound is recognized as something strange, something that doesn't fit with who we should be, and that, furthermore, creates a disturbance in this web of interconnected concepts that is self-concept. What happens if we appear a little more stupid than expected? How does this fit with the image of a robust, compact man that floats in our imagination?
The bad news is that that voice that makes us so ashamed is just like the one everyone hears every time we speak The good news is that much of the unpleasant sensation we experience when we hear it is due to the comparative shock between the voice we normally hear and that one, and not because our voice is particularly irritating.