The phenomenon you're describing is related to the concept of the "Lombard effect" and the way our brains process auditory feedback when we speak. Here are some reasons why people talking near you may not bother you as much as your own voice does when speaking aloud:
Selective auditory processing: When other people are talking near you, your brain tends to prioritize and focus on their voices rather than your own. This selective processing helps you pay attention to external stimuli while filtering out self-generated sounds.
Prediction and monitoring: Our brains have the ability to predict what we are going to say, and this prediction helps in monitoring our own speech. When you speak, your brain has already anticipated the sounds you'll produce, making it less surprising or bothersome to hear your own voice.
Cognitive filtering: The brain actively filters out irrelevant or redundant information, including our own self-produced sounds. This filtering mechanism reduces the cognitive load and allows us to concentrate on external sounds more effectively.
Familiarity and habituation: We are more accustomed to hearing our own voices, as we do so constantly throughout our lives. This familiarity may make our voice less distracting or bothersome compared to the voices of others, which might be less familiar.
Attention allocation: When you're speaking, your attention is primarily focused on the content of your speech and the communication with others. This focused attention may reduce your sensitivity to the auditory feedback of your own voice.
Context and situational awareness: In social situations, you may be more focused on the content of conversations and the interactions with others. This situational awareness can help reduce the perceived distraction of hearing your own voice.
It's important to note that individual experiences can vary, and some people may still find their own voice bothersome when speaking aloud, especially if they are not used to hearing themselves or have specific sensory processing preferences. In certain cases, individuals with conditions like misophonia (strong emotional reactions to specific sounds) may find various auditory stimuli, including their own voice, more bothersome than others might.