• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Reason why some people hear an internal voice in their head while they read

Home> News> Health

Published 16:47 24 Mar 2025 GMT

Reason why some people hear an internal voice in their head while they read

One in five people don't have an 'inner reading voice' according to a study by a New York-based professor

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

While we all may look similar, the chances are that what is going on in our minds and our brains couldn't be more different, and a study suggests that.

For example, there's no way of knowing what the colors I see are the same for other people - my 'blue' might be another person's 'yellow', as bonkers as that sounds.

Then there's countless differences in how we process information, as well as something known as an 'internal monologue'.

A study has found that four in five people have 'inner reading voices' (Getty stock)
A study has found that four in five people have 'inner reading voices' (Getty stock)

Advert

The latter is what I'll be touching on.

The phenomenon goes by several names: 'inner dialogue', 'inner monologue', 'internal dialogue', 'internal monologue', and finally, 'intrapersonal communication'.

Basically, all these words refer to the process of talking to yourself in your head, whether that's in your own voice, your friend's voice when reading their text message, or more bizarrely, that of a celebrity - although you could argue that's just unnecessary, and fewer people claim to be able to do so anyway.

New York University Professor of Psychology Ruvanee Vilhauer published a study on the phenomenon of what he called 'inner speech', and delved deeper into 'inner voice reading', which is as the name describes.

Advert

One in five people reported that they understood the words they were reading without reading them in their head (Getty stock)
One in five people reported that they understood the words they were reading without reading them in their head (Getty stock)

After analyzing 160 posts from a community question and answer website, he found that 82.5 percent of people do hear a voice when they read.

He wrote: "Results indicated that many individuals report routinely experiencing IRVs [internal reading voices], which often have the auditory qualities of overt speech, such as recognizable identity, gender, pitch, loudness and emotional tone.

"IRVs were sometimes identified as the readers’ own voices, and sometimes as the voices of other people. Some individuals reported that IRVs were continuous with audible thoughts."

Advert

While a second paper released two years later, in 2017, he had 570 participants complete a survey and found that 80.7 percent 'reported sometimes or always hearing an inner voice during silent reading'.

Internal dialogue is something that has been discovered in recent years (Getty stock)
Internal dialogue is something that has been discovered in recent years (Getty stock)

The remaining 19.3 percent reported that they did not hear an inner reading voice, although they understood words being read.

"Results indicated that IRVs are a routine experience for many, with 34.2 percent of respondents with IRVs hearing an IRV every time something was read, and 45 percent reporting an IRV often," the professor found.

Advert

"Most respondents reported IRVs with specific auditory qualities such as gender, accent, pitch, loudness, and emotional tone. IRVs were reported in participants' own voices, as well as in the voices of other people.

"Some respondents reported being unable to control any aspect of their IRVs, while others could control one or several aspects. These results indicate that there is considerable individual variation in inner speech during silent reading."

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Morsa Images

Topics: Health, Psychology, Science

Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

X

@JMYjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
10 hours ago
  • 9 hours ago

    Hospital asks for help identifying man, 34, who has been in intensive care for weeks

    This John Doe is 5 feet 7 inches and was found in the Torrance area of California last month

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    'Mutant deer' spotted with terrifying flesh bubbles as fears grow of animal outbreak in the US

    What ever next? Crows with three eyes?

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Expert reveals 8 warning signs that indicate your lack of sex drive could need medical attention

    The expert has said such warnings signs should see you head to the doctors

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Trump rants on Smithsonian museums being 'out of control' for discussing 'how bad slavery was'

    The Smithsonian was the latest target of Trump's ire

    News
  • Reason why some people are more likely to remember dreams than others
  • Bizarre reason why playing Tetris can actually prevent PTSD symptoms
  • Scientist reveals why they 'never use bathroom hand dryer' for an extremely disgusting reason
  • Reason why you probably hate hearing your own voice on recordings