Have you ever heard a recording of your own voice? How did it sound to you? I am sure it sounded different, and you were left asking: Is this really the way I sound? Is this how other people hear me? I sound rather weird!
You are not alone, all hearing human feel this way, and science has not left us in the dark. Below is the explanation.
The Reason Explained
Our own voice sounds different to us when we speak because the sounds we produce vibrate internally, and are transmitted directly to our inner ear, known as the cochlea. As a result, our own voice sounds deeper to us than it does to others.
But when we hear a recording of our voice, the sound is transmitted externally through the air and travels down the ear canal before reaching our inner ear. Hence, we hear this sound at a higher frequency than the sound we hear when we are speaking. The sound of our recorded voice is strange to us because it is not the same sound we hear when we speak.
Also, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, frequency sounds in the range of around 2,000 to 5,000 hertz (Hz) are unpleasant to humans. This frequency range also happens to be where our ears are most sensitive. Healthy humans can hear sound frequencies that range from 20 to 20,000 Hz.
The most unpleasant sounds as indicated by participants in the study are listed below:
- Knife on a bottle
- Fork on a glass
- Chalk on a blackboard
- Ruler on a bottle
- Nails on a blackboard
- Female scream
- Squealing brakes
- Baby crying
- Electric drill
While the least unpleasant sounds are:
- Applause
- Baby laughing
- Thunder
- Water flowing
What do you make of this?
See Also: The Science Behind “the pleasurable pain” Called Scratching
