Why Your Voice Sounds Different on Recordings

Have you ever listened to a recording of your voice and thought, "Is that really what I sound like?" It's a common reaction, and the reason behind it is rooted in the differences between how we typically hear our own voices versus how others hear us, and how microphones capture sound.

When we speak, sound is transmitted in two primary ways: through air conduction and bone conduction. Air conduction transmits sound waves through the air and into our ears, which is how we hear other people's voices. On the other hand, bone conduction happens when the sound vibrates through the bones of the skull. When you speak, your vocal cords not only send sound waves into the air, but they also resonate vibrations directly through the bones in your head.

This bone conduction enhances the lower frequencies of your voice and gives it a fuller, bassier quality that only you can perceive. However, when your voice is recorded and played back, it only captures the air conduction—the sound that travels through the air. Microphones pick up sound waves similar to how other people's ears do, without the internal reverberation of the bones in your skull. Thus, when you hear a recording of your voice, it sounds distinctly different and usually higher pitched or thinner than what you are used to hearing.

Humans have used the redundancy in their hearing to develop new listening tools, such as bone-conducting headphones. These headphones enable people to listen to music without blocking their ears, making them ideal for activities like running, where it's important to stay alert to traffic noises, or for listening to music while swimming underwater.

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