1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Vocabam, and today's episode is another classic from 3 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: our erstwhile host, Christian Sager. He's here to explain why 4 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 1: we're all weirded out by the sound of our own voice. Hi, 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 1: I'm Christian Sager and welcome to brain Stuff. Have you 6 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: ever heard a recording of yourself played back and thought? 7 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,239 Speaker 1: Why do I sound like that? It happens to me 8 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: every time I listen to this podcast. It is weird, right, 9 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: Usually our voices sound deeper, but when played back the 10 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: way everyone else hears them, they're higher and tenure. Why 11 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: does it sound so different and why do we hate 12 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: it so much? Well, the sound of your voice reaches 13 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: your inner ear in two different ways. The vocal folds 14 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: in your throat vibrate, creating sound waves that travel through 15 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: the air, But those sound vibrations also conduct through your body, 16 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: particularly through your skull and bones. Our skulls lower the 17 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: frequency of these later vibrations as they bounce around inside 18 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: our throat, mouth, and neck before reaching the ears cochlea 19 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,319 Speaker 1: through the fleshy tissue in our heads. The surrounding bones 20 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: spread out the vibrations lower their pitch and enhance the 21 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: lower frequency vibrations, so your voice sounds fuller and deeper. 22 00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: When we hear our voice played back on a recording, 23 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: we don't get it filtered through flesh and bone. What 24 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: we're hearing, then, is only the air conducted sound of 25 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: our voice as waves of pressure. These vibrations are caught 26 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,120 Speaker 1: by our outer ears and then transmitted through our ear drums, 27 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: where they vibrate three bony ousticles before reaching the cochlea. 28 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: In both cases, the cochlea converts these vibrations into impulses 29 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: that are sent to the brain. But with the elimination 30 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: of the bone conducted sound, we end up hearing our 31 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: voice the way everyone else hears it. Most of us 32 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 1: have had this experience, and we hate it. We're used 33 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: to the combination of the air conducted and bone conducted 34 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: sounds of our voice. It's what we've lived with all 35 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 1: of our lives, so of course it's unsettling to hear 36 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: something so different than what we're used to. But remember this, 37 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: This is how your friends have been hearing you your 38 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: whole life. To them, it is normal. So just relax 39 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: and rest easy, knowing that everyone cringes at the sound 40 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: of their own voice, even Morgan Freeman, well, everyone except 41 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: Morgan Freeman. Today's episode was written by Christian and produced 42 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: by Tyler. Playing for more wellness and lots of other 43 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: topics that will shake you to the bone, visit our 44 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: home planet, how stuff works dot com.