Why is it than when we speak, our voices sound different from how WE hear it?

Question

Like, if you speak, your voice "sounds" different to you than it does in real life when people actually listent to you, why is that?

Answer 1

It's because of the natural cavities in your head (the ear canal, the eustacian tubes, the sinuses) act as echo chambers. Our cranial bones also add extra vibration and tend to make our voices sound deeper and more resonant than they sound when recorded.

There's also an element of mind trickery here, too. We THINK we sound a certain way, so that's what we hear.

Answer 2

If you record yourself, you hear it differently then if you were just listening to yourself talk. Its actually been proven. Everyones hearing is different though, so you wont hear yourself the same as your friend, and maybe your mom doesn't hear your voice the same as your friend. Everyone is different but there is a difference when you hear your own voice. I can't really tell you why that is, without researching it, but I have learned about it before.

Answer 3

You are right, it does sound different. Just record yourself and you will hear how others hear you but you will also hear that you don't sound at all like you hear yourself. I think it is because when you hear yourself talking you are hearing with you inner ear like when you chew you hear it inside your ear. When you listen to a recording you are hearing what you sound like to others. It is different. The first time I heard my recorded voice I refused to believe it was me until I actually recorded my own voice then I had to believe it was indeed me speaking and sounding like no one I knew but exactly like my friend said I sound.

Answer 4

I'd assume because our voice projects outward from our mouth so the sound doesn't go past our ears, but rather stays in front of our ears. So it sounds a little different, because our ears aren't hearing the sound directly.

Answer 5

When you speak, your voice bounces off all the things in your head located between your throat and your ears. That makes your voice sound different to you.

When other people speak, your voice doesn't bounce off of anything. There's usually nothing but air between your throat and their ears. So the sound doesn't change.

Answer 6

Im guessing you mean like on an answering machine. It has something to do with the echos of your sinus passages. I know I sound like a 12 yo when people call. Ive been asked to speak to my mother, I say no but you can talk to my 15yo son!

Answer 7

i know what you are talking about.. this is when you include an electronic device .......say for ex when speaking on phone... you sound different .. the simple reason being the limitation of the channel that is carrying your voice or the poor quality of the microphone.
most simple electonic circuits cannot reproduce the sound exactly. ... as it cost more and requires higher bandwidth.

Answer 8

I think it's because when you speak, you hear yourself internally. When something records your speech, you hear it the way it sounds after it has traveled a bit through the air, the way others hear you. A very slight amount of Doppler shift.

Answer 9

Because, when you talk your voice vibrates through your skull-bone, which if you didn't notice doesn't happen when other people talk to you. So it sounds more bass-y

BTW chnysa is an idiot that has apparently never heard of the microphone.

Answer 10

I wish I knew the answer to this cuz I think I sound pretty good when I sing but from what I understand.....I suck -- ha ha. That's ok - I wasn't planning on hitting American Idol anyway....but a good question -- curious myself and therfore, I will give you a star for it (plus since I'm not giving you a good answer, you at least deserve the star).