(April 24, 2015 at 11:31 am)Judi Lynn Wrote: Not sure if this is along the same lines, but when I sing, I hear myself differently than what other people do. I think I'm singing off key when I see video of myself singing. This really bothers me a lot.
That's because, when you hear yourself the sound takes an internal path, throat -> nose -> Eustachian tube -> tympanic membrane.
And when you hear external sound, it comes through the external auditory canal to the tympanic membrane.
Curiosity: the tympanic membrane completely seals the outer ear from the eustachian tube. This membrane is very sensitive to air pressure, which is what sound is made of - air pressure waves.
In principle, the air pressure on both sides is the same, but when it's not (say, when you're going uphill or lifting off on an airplane) the membrane is pulled to one side, which can hurt.
