This is part two of an inadvertent series I’m titling “Apparently Recently Discovered Self-Esteem-Related Fears You Didn’t Know Were Actually a Thing So That’s Fun”. Fear of Hearing Your Voice is something you don’t really notice until you do things like yell while within a hollow cave and hear the echo or become a celebrity guest star on a podcast episode. The first instalment in this series was Fear of Accidentally Seeing Your Reflection. I know a handful of people commented saying “THIS!” which I will assume means it is relatable or perhaps they were cut off before they could complete the sentence. Either way, I always appreciate the feedback and social shares across Things I Fear as well! So let’s dive into Fear of Hearing Your Own Voice now!
Voice Confrontation: Fear of Hearing Your Voice
Science tells us it is almost impossible to hear your own voice through casual conversation. Whether that be in the form of delivering a speech in front of a roaring crowd or as you quietly mutter to yourself on the bus, it’s very difficult to actually hear yourself the way others hear you. This is due to things like psychological and physiological factors which I will not attempt to explain due to the amount of syllables involved in some of the words. Humans be cray. As a result, the only way to truly hear yourself is through recording. Even then, the sound you are hearing is not an exact replication of what others hear in real-time because, again, science distorts that version through technological recordings. So if you think you sound weird, you probably do. But there’s no way to know for certain. Damn you, science!
The Fear of Hearing Your Voice is known as Voice Confrontation. Much like phobias such as Agoraphobia, Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, and Triskaidekaphobia, there are many ways to say these Fears but they mean the same thing. As the name Voice Confrontation suggests, it basically means the idea of hearing yourself creates a state of discomfort or turmoil as you are confronted with feelings of disdain or internal turmoil whether it be because you simply do not like what you’re hearing or because you have conflicting thoughts from it. Confrontation is tough. Hearing your rejected audition tape for American Idol is tougher. Side note: Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia being Fear of Long Words is perfection.
Turn Down the Volume on Fear of Hearing Your Voice
As mentioned at the top of this post, one way you may hear your own voice is by being a celebrity (well…) guest on a podcast episode. This is actually something I recently had the opportunity to do courtesy of Arts Union Science. They have produced several great practice episodes in preparation for my grand arrival which you should definitely check out too. One key takeaway I learned from the experience: I’m better at writing (well…) than speaking. Fortunately, podcasts are one of the very few ways you might otherwise end up hearing your own voice. Other methods include those YakBak devices from the mid-90s or I guess literally any recording device ever made. The point is: it’s not like you’re going to accidentally stumble across your own voice. Besides, your voice sounds great! You’re great! Anyone who thinks anything differently is entitled to their own opinion even if they are completely wrong. So don’t waste your time worrying about what anyone else thinks and just be happy in your own skin. And in your own voice. Is that a thing? Feels like ending a motivational statement with a question mark sort of takes away from the message. Yet here we are.
