Fact of the Day: 13/12/2021

Have you ever watched or listened to a recording of yourself? If you have, then you’ve probably noticed that your voice sounds a little bit different on tape. Why does this happen? According to BBC Earth Lab, “. . . because you can hear your voice in two different ways” (“BBC Earth Lab” 1:27-1:29). One voice “is [formed] by sending the [surrounding] air vibrating,” and you hear that when it “travels and propagates into your ear drum” (“BBC Earth Lab” 1:30 -1:35). This is the voice you hear in the recording. The second voice, the one you think you sound like, takes a different route: “your vocal chords vibrating actually sets up vibrations in your skull, and those vibrations travel through your skull and set your eardrum vibrating” (“BBC Earth Lab” 1:37-1:47). This voice sounds different because “as those vibrations travel through the bone, they spread out; the notes actually lower, the frequencies drop. That means when you hear that way, you hear a lower voice” (“BBC Earth Lab” 1:48-2:00). Since the voice in your head is lower in pitch, the  voice you hear in the recording is your actual voice. I hope this answered any questions you had about why you hear a different voice in a recording compared to in your head.

Reference(s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvosNz0Xq7g&list=PLMrtJn-MOYmcMLEnLKQjjxJqled29hSLB&index=15

Fact Author: Durga I.

Fact Editor: Ace

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