Why Can You Hear Your Voice Differently on Speakerphones?

Your voice sounds different on a speakerphone because you're hearing it from outside your head. When you talk normally, your voice travels through the bones in your skull to your ears, that’s why it feels familiar and warm. But when you use a speakerphone, your voice comes out of the speakers, just like someone else talking across a room. That means you’re hearing it from the outside, so it sounds more echoey or odd.

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Examples

  1. When you use a speakerphone, it feels like someone else is talking right next to you, which makes your own voice sound strange.
  2. If you talk into your phone and hear yourself on the other end, your voice might feel more echoey or high-pitched.
  3. It’s like hearing your voice from across a room instead of in your head, it just doesn’t feel familiar.

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