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Do You Hear Yourself Differently When Sick?

Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2015-03-19 07:02

For some reason life hates me and I've managed to catch some sort of virus or flu again... Anyway! Whenever I get stuffy and sick I always seem to sound worse to myself and its quite discouraging. On top of already having practically no will, just a drive to practice, my tone always sound weak and out of tune. Do any of you experience similar things?

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Re: Do You Hear Yourself Differently When Sick?

Author: buedsma
Date: 2015-03-19 13:24

i have airco problems : very often problems with nose , eyes , sinusses.
The worse it gets , the more i perceive my playing as shrill . Don't hear the sound anymore as it is heard by another listener.

I start playing too loud . Not enough attention to sound quality, not because i don't want , but because i don't hear it etc

When it gets better , my sound becomes better immediately

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Re: Do You Hear Yourself Differently When Sick?

Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-03-19 16:14

Why not record yourself playing, both sick and well? Listen to the tapes when you're well; see if you note substantial difference. Your tape of playing while sick may be less impressive simply because you're not feeling well. But if the difference between the two tapes in minimal, it might suggest that part of your feeling that you aren't playing as well when sick is due to altered perception when you are sick, consistent perhaps with things like fluid in your ears.

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Re: Do You Hear Yourself Differently When Sick?

Author: kdk
Date: 2015-03-19 16:49

buedsma wrote:

> The worse it gets , the more i perceive my playing as shrill .
> Don't hear the sound anymore as it is heard by another
> listener.
>

We never hear ourselves as others hear us (apologies to Robert Burns) anyway. You could be hearing a *more* distorted sound than you normally do (and that you're accustomed to) if your ears are inflamed and not responding in a normal way or even if only your Eustachian tubes (that relieve air pressure differences behind your ear drum) are clogged.

My wife (a violist) had a cold that ended in a fairly severe ear infection one summer long ago. The doctor didn't want to treat it with antibiotics or other meds because she was at that point in mid-pregnancy with our twins, so she basically put up with it. When she played, she heard different pitches in each ear. The notes she heard coming from her viola were out of tune with each other.

Recording yourself will either put your mind at ease or confirm your worst fears - or probably somewhere in between. Then do what you can to minimize congestion and wait the bug out. You might talk to your doctor or another health professional about why you get sick so often and what to do to minimize symptoms when you do get sick.

And be happy you're a clarinetist and not a singer.

Karl

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Re: Do You Hear Yourself Differently When Sick?

Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-03-19 16:52

Totally makes sense, your passages get all stuffed up and you'll sound pretty much to yourself what you sound like with ear plugs.

.............Paul Aviles

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