No, we cannot hear our recorded voices before we actually speak. The act of speaking involves the generation of sound waves through the vocal cords and the airways, which are then received by our own ears or by others around us. When we speak, the sound waves travel through the air and reach our ears, allowing us to hear our own voice in real-time.
However, when we hear a recording of our voice played back to us, it might sound different from what we are accustomed to hearing when we speak. This discrepancy is due to a combination of factors:
Bone conduction: When we speak, sound waves also travel through the bones in our head, which can slightly alter the perception of our own voice. This bone conduction provides a deeper and more resonant quality to our voice when we speak, and it's not fully captured in recordings.
Air conduction: When we listen to a recording of our voice, we hear it through the external auditory pathway, which is known as "air conduction." This auditory perception can sound higher in pitch and less resonant than what we hear through bone conduction when speaking.
Because of these differences between bone conduction and air conduction, many people find their recorded voices to be somewhat unfamiliar or even slightly uncomfortable. It can be surprising to hear how we sound to others compared to how we perceive ourselves when we speak.
With time and exposure to recordings of our voice, we can become more accustomed to the sound and gradually adjust our self-perception. This is why, for example, people who frequently speak on the phone or hear themselves on recordings tend to become more comfortable with their recorded voice over time.