Have you ever noticed that your recorded voice sounds different from what you hear in your head? This intriguing phenomenon is because of the unique ways we perceive our own voices. Understanding the science behind this is a fascinating journey.
Let’s delve into the process of how we perceive sounds. It all starts with objects that are vibrating, which generates sound waves. For example, when we speak or play an instrument, we create vibrations in our vocal cords or the instruments, forming sound waves. These waves then embark on a journey through the air, eventually finding their way into our ears.
The ear is an organ that receives and processes sound. It consists of three main parts: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear (see graphic).
The outer ear consists of a pinna and an external auditory canal and is responsible for funnelling sound waves into the ear.
The middle ear has an eardrum and three bones known as ossicles – the malleus, incus and stapes.
Sound waves collected by the external auditory canal cause the eardrum to vibrate, which is then amplified by the ossicles and transmitted to the inner ear.
The inner ear consists of semicircular canals, a vestibule and a snail-shaped cavity called the cochlea. When sound is transmitted to the inner ear, it moves the fluid and stimulates the hair cells in the cochlea. These will then generate nerve signals to the brain, which translates them into what we hear. That is how we hear the sounds around us.
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How we hear our voice
When we speak or sing, our vocal cords vibrate and create sound waves, which enter our ears not only through the air, but also directly through our skull. The voice we hear is a combination of the sounds transmitted to our ears by bone conduction and air conduction.
For the sound vibrations that travel through our skull bones, they reach our ears internally. These internal vibrations make our voice sound lower in pitch – but only for ourselves.
On the other hand, recordings only capture the sounds travelling through the air. This is why our recorded voice may sound higher and thinner than the one we are used to hearing inside our head. This also explains why others cannot hear the way our voice sounds to ourselves.
If you are curious about which is your authentic voice, it is the recorded version. But if you want to know how your voice sounds when transmitted only through your skull, you can simply cover your ears to hear it.
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