What is it called when you can hear yourself in your headset?

What is it Called When You Can Hear Yourself in Your Headset?

Ever found yourself in a predicament where you can clearly hear your own voice being transmitted through your headset while speaking to someone on a call, in-game chat, or video conferencing? It’s a frustration many of us have faced, especially when we need to have a productive and focused conversation. So, what exactly is happening and what do we call it?

Direct Answer: The phenomenon you’re describing is known as sidetone. Sidetone (also known as microphone monitoring) occurs when sound is picked up by the microphone and instantly played back to the speaker, often to the degree that the user can clearly hear their own voice through the headset. This audio feedback can make it challenging to have normal conversations and can lead to delays and errors.

The Science Behind Sidetone:
In order for sidetone to occur, several conditions need to be met:

• Correct Microphone Adjustment: If the microphone isn’t correctly positioned or if the settings are incorrect, it can cause sound reflections and increased volume levels.

• Echo Location: A person’s vocal cords producing sound, a sound reflection occurring due to the listener’s head orientation, mouth movement, the shape and material of a room’s acoustic, et cetera. – This Acoustic feedback affects your brain – it thinks this "ear" what "we should" go ahead.