Trusting your gut instinct

Why does this feel so incredibly bizarre???
At least for me—and honestly, everyone I’ve ever asked—the consensus is that it feels totally off, if not downright unsettling. Personally... I wouldn't go so far as to say it's revolting—my mother, for instance, can't even stand the thought of hearing a recording because she claims her own voice sounds completely different from how she hears herself internally—but it certainly isn't pleasant. It's not that what I hear is "ugly," per se, but it just doesn't feel like *me*.

What is the actual reason for this? Is it simply because we experience our own voices through internal conduction when we aren't listening to a playback, or is there something else at play...?

It’s because we mostly hear our own voices vibrating through our skulls. Sound waves hit differently when they're bouncing off bone rather than traveling through open air. Since we grew up hearing ourselves that way—using that internal resonance to actually shape our sense of self—it feels genuinely jarring to hear how we sound to everyone else. It's just pure air, without all that extra interference from bone, tissue, fluid, and those little air pockets in the skull. Honestly, I think most people find that shift so unsettling it actually makes them feel physically uncomfortable.

placidjackal36 said:It’s because we mostly hear our own voices vibrating through our own skulls. Inside your head, the sound waves bounce differently than they do when traveling through open air. Since that’s how we've always heard ourselves—and since we've basically built part of our identity around that internal sound—it feels totally surreal when you finally hear what you actually sound like to everyone else, rather than hearing it through bone, tissue, fluids, and those little air pockets in your skull. I think for most people, that sensation is so jarring it actually makes them feel self-conscious.

Exactly.
I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed, but man, it is just so, so weird. 😁
And then people have the nerve to tell me I have a nice voice! 😵

And that’s why people keep telling me I sound like some little kid 🙂 🙈

Honestly, I still have these moments of total disbelief whenever someone tells me I have a nice voice—mostly because when I actually hear a recording of myself... 😱 I really hope it’s just a matter of getting used to my own tone rather than people simply being polite; I mean, it isn't like I'm actively soliciting their opinions just to force them into a lie, 😁
Anyway, if I sound different to everyone else, I suppose there isn't much I can do about it since that's just how I sound 😁

I’ve never really heard myself spoken about 😳

Honestly, whenever I hear a recording of myself, I’m convinced my voice is an absolute disaster 🙏 It’s probably for the best that I don't have to listen to it in real-time 🙏

but then again, I just feel bad for everyone else who actually has to deal with it... 😳🤣

placidjackal36 said:It’s because we mostly hear our own voices vibrating through our own skulls. Sound bounces differently inside bone than it does through open air. Since that's how we've always heard ourselves—and used that specific sound to build our very identities—it feels jarring when we finally hear what we actually sound like to the rest of the world, rather than just the echo through tissue and bone. I suspect most people find that realization deeply unsettling.

😲 Now I'm going to have this stuck in my head every time I try to speak...

Maybe we should just stick to emojis. 😳😁🙄😉🤷

Man, I’m definitely not alone in this. Honestly, hearing my own voice on a recording is pure cringe... I don't sound like a real person at all. Other people tell me I sound perfectly fine, though. Does anyone here actually have the guts to post a recording of their own voice on YouTube?😛

When I first heard that, I honestly can't remember if my first instinct was just to bolt or if I actually ran for it. 😲
🤣

Honestly, when I heard it for the first time, I was almost moved to tears🙂 I mean, damn, I actually thought to myself, "Do I really sound like that?"😱 I’ve managed to get somewhat used to it over time, but it still feels pretty strange to me—almost surreal, even a little ridiculous at times...🤣

Apparently, I have the exact same voice as my dad.😕 People constantly mistake us for one another over the phone. And yet, to me, we sound nothing alike.🤣

So, I’ve got another one for you guys. Why doesn't everything sound different when I put my headphones in my mouth? Like, I just popped an earbud right in there just now, and honestly... it sounds totally normal. Just regular audio.😕

mistymarlin6 said:Man, I'm glad it's not just me. There is a genuine sense of embarrassment whenever I hear my own voice in a recording. It honestly doesn't even sound human to me. Though, apparently, others tell me I sound perfectly fine.

It’s a universal experience.
I was under the impression that I alone possessed the most ridiculous voice in existence. 😢

^^you don't want to hear my 😲

mistymarlin6 said:I actually have another question for you all—has anyone else noticed this? Why is it that when I put my earbuds directly into my mouth, the music doesn't sound any different at all? I’m being quite literal here—I just popped an earbud in my mouth a moment ago, and the audio sounds perfectly normal. It’s a bit of a strange sensation, really, but the acoustic quality remains completely unchanged.😕

🤣 🤣 🤣

Person! 😁

👍

steelsurfer42 said:When I first heard that, I honestly can't remember if my first instinct was just to run away or if I actually bolted. 😲
🤣

Oh, absolutely!!! Good grief, I think I actually believed—well, up until about fifth grade—that everything was broken, including the one device I used to film myself, just because I sounded so incredibly weird! Talk about a nightmare...

^I’m being completely serious here—just give it a shot and see if it sounds okay to you 😁

mistymarlin6 said:So, I’ve got another question for you guys. Why doesn't the music sound any different when I put my earbuds in my mouth? Like, I literally just popped one in my mouth right now and the audio sounds totally normal. What gives?😕

Look, your voice doesn't actually come from your mouth—it comes from your throat. Why don't you just shove some headphones down your larynx and let me know how it sounds? 😁

^you think I won't😬

I don't really like listening to myself, but I sound just like my sister 😬 and people constantly mistake us for each other over the phone 🤷

I just don't have a unique voice 😢