Today, I realized that I talk way too much for my own good. If it weren’t for the acoustic reflex, I would have been dealing with hearing my own voice at an amazingly high volume for hours upon hours each day. This sound comes in strong, loud, and clear and would no doubt do extreme damage to my sense of hearing because of the fact that it is generated from my mouth less than a foot away. I realized that due to the acoustic reflex, I have learned to essentially (but of course not totally) tune out my own voice. I get accustomed to hearing it at the times that I decide to speak, and have the experienced the noise long enough to know not to expect any variations or surprises in it. I think that reliability in the vocal quality is often taken for granted thanks to processes like the acoustic reflex until I get sick. I immediately hear any minute changes in the way my voice slowly becomes scratchy or deeper while others I talk to may not even notice there is anything wrong. Overall, I am so thankful for the phenomenon of acoustic reflex because without it, I might decide to become mute just to preserve my sanity!
