Why Does My Voice Sound Different on Recording and Treatment Options

Every so often, I have a patient who presents to my office with a complaint that their voice sounds different on recording than what they themselves hear.

In particular, singers who come in state specifically that their vocal recordings sounds slightly flat when they thought they were singing in perfect pitch.

So why does this happen? Unfortunately, it is physics and fundamentally integrated to how the ear, skull, and sound transmission work. In other words, it can't be "treated" with surgery or medications.

What other people hear when you sing or talk is air conducted sound that gets transmitted through the ear canal, eardrum, middle ear bones, and ultimately to the cochlea hearing organ (pathway A). Image modified from Wikipedia.

The sound the individual singer/talker hears is not only sound transmitted via the air (pathway A) but also by vibration of the skull itself directly to the cochlea hearing organ bypassing the outer and middle ear completely (pathway B). The mechanical properties of the skull enhance the deeper, lower-frequency vibrations.

Therefore, when a talker/singer listens to a recording of their voice speaking/singing, the bone-conducted pathway that they consider part of their “normal” voice is eliminated, and they hear only the air-conducted component in unfamiliar isolation (what everybody else actually hears).

SO... what is a singer/talker to do if they are disturbed by the way they sound to others? Particularly, what is a singer to do when they always sing a little flat when they truly think they are singing in pitch?

One can wear earplugs in order to hear only bone-conducted vibrations and get used to their alter-voice and undergo speech/voice therapy. OR... accept that their voice IS different.

For singers, I highly recommend using HearFones Headsetwhich is a funny looking head device that allows an individual singer to hear what they really sound like and more importantly what the audience would hear! In addition, while using HearFones, the singer would be able to hear himself more predominantly over the rest of the ensemble thus helping him to improve the quality of his/her individual vocal quality output.

Over time, singers will be able to automatically adjust their singing such that they no longer will need such a device to sing in tune with others when in familiar surroundings. BUT... in new environments (new concert hall, outdoor arena, etc), it is not unusual that their singing may become off again...

This is why professional singers often wear earpieces that convey sounds recorded by microphones placed in the audience... and also why they sometimes sound flat and out-of-tune when they don't!

It's also why it is VERY important to rehearse in a new place before a concert.

Difference Between In-Network vs Out-of-Network Health Insurance Coverage

To read more about general ideas (copays, deductibles, etc) of how health insurance coverage works, click here.

There are large health insurance companies that offer health insurance plans throughout the United States like Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, etc.

HOWEVER, just because you have one of these companies, does NOT mean that the health insurance benefits that apply in the state you live in apply to the other 49 states in the United States. Sometimes, even within the state, coverage may vary depending on whether the physician you see is IN-NETWORK or OUT-OF-NETWORK with your health insurance plan.

IN-NETWORK coverage means the doctor you see participates fully with your health insurance plan and the copays, deductibles, coinsurances, etc specified on your health insurance card applies.

OUT-OF-NETWORK coverage means that the doctor you see participates with your health insurance plan, but you will have to pay a MUCH larger portion of the bill as your health insurance plan will only cover a much smaller fraction of the charges.

In order to determine whether the doctor you will like to see is in-network or out-of-network, you will have to call your health insurance plan and ask.

Please be aware that your health insurance plan may not even offer out-of-network benefits in which case you are responsible to pay for everything if you see a provider who is not in-network.

A final last point is that some physicians may not even be in-network OR out-of-network with your health insurance plan. In this case, EVEN if you have out-of-network benefits, you will be responsible for all charges out-of-pocket.

To see what insurances we participate with in our office, click here. Just remember that we may be out-of-network, ESPECIALLY if you live in a different state from Virginia.