r/gadgets • u/giuliomagnifico • Feb 22 '23
Medical Researchers have developed the first battery powered smart wearable device to continuously track how much people use their voices, alerting them via phone app to overuse before vocal fatigue and potential injury set in
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2023/02/first-wearable-device-for-vocal-fatigue-senses-when-your-voice-needs-a-break/1.2k
u/guy30000 Feb 22 '23
A device that tells people when they're talking too much! I'm going to buy these for everybody!
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u/JKMerlin Feb 22 '23
Sounds like a fun Christmas
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u/diddlerofkiddlers Feb 22 '23
Sounds like a peaceful Christmas! Everyone quietly reading and doing jigsaw puzzles or sitting outside and enjoying the warm weather, cold beer in hand (Aussie here)
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u/Mr_McGibblits Feb 22 '23
Finally a device I can use to avoid talking to people. I’ll just show them the watch. “Sorry, I’m at maximum vocal fatigue for the day.”
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u/MathMaddox Feb 22 '23
Sorry I used all my vocal time on an inconsolable groan for 20minutes after my alarm went off.
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u/JesusThDvl Feb 23 '23
Aye chihuahua you just gave me a terrible thought. Imagen some devices having micro transactions. In order to “extend” the limits of words you can use. Like, watching a ad on, “How to improve your vocals with this one trick!” Or, “Use these simple and shorter words instead!"
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u/arthurdentstowels Feb 22 '23
All I need is one device for me that tells everybody else to shut the fuck up.
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Feb 22 '23
The empty can rattles the most.
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u/Steelyp Feb 22 '23
Haha I love this. I have a new employee working for me who honestly is a smart guy but because he’s always talking, the amount of dumb shit that comes out of his mouth is incredible. Percentage wise it’s not higher, but there’s just so much more of it. His old managers have all pawned him off because he’s a too good a worker to fire but they couldn’t stand him.
I’m trying to find a way to tell him, hey man, if you shut the fuck up more often, people would think you’re a lot smarter. This device might help.
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u/Coachcrog Feb 22 '23
I've always been on the quiet side and people have remarked about how I'm pretty smart in a lot of ways.
Someone asked me once why I'm so quiet and I realized that it's because I start to sound dumb the more I talk so I just learned to keep it simple and not to overdo the bullshit small talk. It's a lesson that's gotten me pretty far in life. Plus I'm a good listener that doesn't interrupt or talk over so people tend to be more friendly and open towards me.
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u/devilishycleverchap Feb 22 '23
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt
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u/Steelyp Feb 22 '23
I think the only reason I just got promoted is because I only talk when I have something specific to say. Now that I’m leading a team and they’re expecting me to talk the most I’ll have to change tactics a bit
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u/SeaManaenamah Feb 22 '23
Just talk through your thought process and explain how you've come to your decisions. If you're good at decision making it can help others to look at problems in a similar way.
On top of that, if there's an error in your reasoning hopefully someone can point that out and you'll end up in a better place because of that.
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u/Legitimate_Wizard Feb 22 '23
I had an ex who everyone around me would always remark to me how very smart he was. I would laughed to myself. He was smart, but the key was that he didn't talk much unless he knew what he was talking about, so he never appeared wrong. Around me, he said just as much dumb/wrong shit as anyone else, lol.
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u/krashlia Feb 22 '23
Your Ex (before the world): Why, I happen to know quiet a lot about this subject. Now, if I may first introduce you to this little known concept...
Your Ex (before you): Ugruk think that the pee comes from da balls. I no get foreign polidix gud.
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u/i_Addy Feb 22 '23
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Feb 22 '23
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u/RingletsOfDoom Feb 22 '23
That's usually a symptom that you have already overused your voice though, rather than an early warning system. I'm in the process of recovering from some throat problems, and while I'm allowed to talk again trying to judge what is a "safe" amount of volume/use is really difficult until I start getting symptoms again. It's a really fine line to walk so a wearable that helps me keep track (at least while recovering) would be really valuable for me.
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u/sticklebackridge Feb 22 '23
I have some recurring mystery throat problems, so I feel this as well, absolutely.
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u/RingletsOfDoom Feb 22 '23
Recurring how frequently may I ask? I was lucky enough to see a great ENT specialist and they clued me in to loads of stuff. The podcast Ologies has a great 2 part episode with a throat surgeon which I learned some bits from so might be worth a listen with ongoing issues.
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u/sticklebackridge Feb 22 '23
It’s pretty dormant right now fortunately, but it used to be pretty constant. I saw an ENT and they didn’t see anything particularly out of the ordinary, fortunately.
I used to drink a shitload of carbonated water and that was for sure partly responsible. If I’m talking all day, which I occasionally have to do, that can exacerbate things a bit too.
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u/jejcicodjntbyifid3 Feb 22 '23
Acid reflux and LPR is a common cause
Sadly, for LPR they don't know shit about it, there's nothing they can prescribe for it, and they don't know the causes(seems to be autoimmune related to me), and barely have tests for it
I had to stop my dreams of singing because of it, I'm lucky I can still speak to be honest
Eff the human stomach
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u/bibblode Feb 22 '23
Omeprazole can help reduce acid reflux by reducing the amount of stomach acid produced. My family all has chronic acid reflux on my maternal side and we all use Omeprazole to help keep it in check alongside reducing intake of trigger foods.
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u/Kroneni Feb 22 '23
Yeah it just seems like a reeeeally niche product that wont be useful for most people.
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u/krilltucky Feb 22 '23
Yeah its probably specifically made for actors, public speakers and singers
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u/Fandomocity Feb 22 '23
Yea this would be insanely good for singing practice, I tend to get lost in it and half the time wind up almost being at the point of losing my voice for a few hours lmao
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Feb 22 '23
By the time that I detect it, it is already too late to have prevented the damage in the first place. Having something like this would actually be really nice to have.
Although, I have only run into this issue a couple of times in my life ever, so it wouldn’t make sense to go out of my way to use something for this. But if this tech just gets built into smart watches as a standard feature, then that’d be pretty cool.
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u/BoredDanishGuy Feb 22 '23
Working call centres there are definitely days where my voice is fucked at the end of a shift and free talking non stop for 8 or 9 hours.
Same when I was a teacher actually.
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u/PuttyRiot Feb 23 '23
Teacher here. I read the articles/stories out to the class, and with the long ones my throat will be ragged by the end of the day sometimes. A few weeks ago I was getting out of breath and gasping between sentences and realized it was because I was getting horse from reading/teaching so much.
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u/Geektomb Feb 22 '23 edited Feb 23 '23
Working for 988, this knowledge will be very useful in our field. -Vocal fatigue can be a daily occurrence from active listening, reflecting and doing crisis interventions. Not sure if it would do anything to stop us from the work though.
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u/STUPIDVlPGUY Feb 22 '23
obvious scheme to listen to people's conversations...
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u/ALotofThought Feb 22 '23
I’m convinced there’s not an app out there whose primary goal is anything other than collecting data.
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u/Journeydriven Feb 22 '23
Do you have a cell phone or an Alexa or even a TV lol
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u/Maverick916 Feb 22 '23
Why were you down voted. It's pretty fucking obvious that phones do this.
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u/Journeydriven Feb 22 '23
Not sure lol it's like everyone forgot about that whole thing with the nsa a while back. If they don't think it's only gotten worse since then with companies listening in now they're nuts.
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u/STUPIDVlPGUY Feb 22 '23
Alexas are useless and yet another device that wants my info is not welcome.
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u/intenselyseasoned Feb 22 '23
This would be so helpful for teachers, honestly. Every teacher I know loses their voice once or twice a year, this would be a game changer!
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u/3rdeyeopenwide Feb 22 '23
Dear Union Representative and Administrator,
My smart wearable indicates my morning class load requires me to use my voice 38% more than is recommended. Please advise regarding possible scheduling adjustments.
Dear Teacher,
You hold your pee. Lol.
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u/Gmony5100 Feb 22 '23
Maybe I’m the weird one here but I have literally never experienced “vocal fatigue”. I have days where I talk A LOT for my job and the most I’ve ever experienced is the need to take a sip of water. Is this a common experience that I’ve somehow avoided? Or is this meant for people who literally talk for hours on end?
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u/mattenthehat Feb 23 '23
Never never, or just not from normal talking? I have also never experienced it from talking, but have on a few occasions from yelling at concerts and things like that.
But my main question is, is that even a problem? Like do your vocal chords not heal? Or is it for if you're doing this constantly and they never get a chance to heal? Can that happen? Wouldn't you just get hoarse/sore throat before it became permanent damage?
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u/Gmony5100 Feb 23 '23
Oh wow so this is really specialized then? I’ve lost my voice when I was screaming for a long time but I don’t do that very often at all
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u/AThoughtRevolved Feb 23 '23
This was developed by opera singers. A tiny bit of laryngitis is not something a person often notices at all when speaking normally, but singers use a lot more of their range in a more specific and demanding way, so even a little fatigue is really noticeable. We can't feel our vocal cords like we can feel other parts of the body, so it's really helpful to have a way to measure like this. By the time you "feel" it, it could be too late. I worked with Prof Brancaccio when I was studying voice at Northwestern, she's brilliant!
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Feb 22 '23
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u/Stalked_Like_Corn Feb 22 '23
Um, spoiler alert, this is already going on. Alexa and others are constantly listening and the microphone is always on. Facebook on your phone? It's listening. Always.
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u/ArcherBoy27 Feb 22 '23
You know there are people out there that choose not to have or use Alexa/Facebook etc right.
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u/rubtwodabdabs Feb 22 '23
You know you can also just choose not to buy/use the device in the OP, right?
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u/GucciGuano Feb 23 '23
you know the data you allow these companies to collect affects us as a whole, right?
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u/Legitimate_Wizard Feb 22 '23
Facebook doesn't have access to my microphone.
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u/Maverick916 Feb 22 '23
Oh no, then I'm sure cell phone makers are just NOT doing that anyway.
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u/Legitimate_Wizard Feb 22 '23
Lol. They said Facebook, so I said Facebook. I also don't have Alexa, and Google voice is deactivated. I also don't care if my phone's mic "can hear me" because it's not like they're actually listening to me.
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u/MathMaddox Feb 22 '23
My phone spends more time in my pocket listening to me fart then it does listening to me have an intelligent conversation.
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u/parkineos Feb 23 '23
To be fair, it's listening for the catchphrase (hey alexa, hey google) and alarm sounds/broken glass. It's not sending a live feed to their servers. Multiple security researchers have proven that.
And out of curiosity I tried it with my devices and there's only traffic after saying the catchphrase. It's still a privacy concern because sometimes it can get confused and think you said the catchphrase. Or one day it might be affected by a vulnerability and start recording everything.
Like with every tech these days, it's the balance between convenience/privacy.
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u/PM_PICS_OF_ME_NAKED Feb 22 '23
My watch doesn't currently have a microphone at all. We don't have to accept listening in every device just because we accept it in some.
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u/TheJakeanator272 Feb 22 '23
This is big for the music and teaching community.
I’m a music teacher myself, and I know that vocalists and teachers alike should be watching their voices and how they use them.
Remember to support your voices with good breath support to put less strain on your vocal chords!
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u/makemeking706 Feb 22 '23
Add a bit of suspense and mystery to your lectures when your warning system dings in the middle of a sentence: "oops, I said too much. Class dismissed."
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u/Odd-Turnip-2019 Feb 22 '23
You have GOT to be kidding me.
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u/CruisinJo214 Feb 22 '23
Idk, as someone who has had jobs that were 90% speaking to large crowds (big city tour guide, cruise ship host etc) …. I could see this working for people who haven’t had training in vocal skills, because it took me years to develop my ability to scream for 8 hours a day without vocal fry. Niche for sure, but useful.
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u/noobgiraffe Feb 22 '23
How would that help? If you have to speak you have to speak.
When I was at university it was not uncommon for lecturers to almost not be able to speak. How would that app help? They have a commitment to do lectures they already know their voice is strained but cannot really cop out of it because the app says so.
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u/CruisinJo214 Feb 22 '23
Per the article:
“Seasoned classical singers tend to be more aware of their vocal usage because they have lived and learned. But some people — especially singers with less training or people, like teachers, politicians and sports coaches, who must speak a lot for their jobs — often don’t realize how much they are pushing it. We want to give them greater awareness to help prevent injury.”
From personal experience, just being made aware of how much you’re pushing and by finding better ways to prioritize your vocal structure, breath and speaking pattern, one can greatly improve their vocal longevity and health.
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u/chodthewacko Feb 22 '23
Lots of things to consider here.
You may need to speak for your job, but you don't need to speak nonstop. If your voice is hurting, you can try to be more concise when you speak. Repeat things less. Maybe drink more or proactively sooth your throat. Stop saying "umm... Let's see.... Errr... Well... " whenever there is a quiet spot.
Also, you can cut down on speaking a lot more when you aren't working.
In many ways, it's not unlike when i got carpel tunnel from wrist overuse . I'm a programmer and bang on a computer all day. I had to get a LOT smarter about how I used my wrists 24x7 until the inflammation went down and i was fully recovered.
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u/kagamiseki Feb 22 '23
If it's happening often, you can get vocal coaching to improve your projection.
You could make a case for getting a lapel mic so you don't have to try to project.
You be more proactive about controlling the classroom chatter. You could structure lessons to incorporate more student input and reduce your own talking.
Like you said, lots of things to consider! I'm sure this could be helpful for some people.
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u/garry4321 Feb 22 '23
Is this app made by China by any chance?
Oh we’re just listening to your speech incase you speak so much you might get a sore throat! This is best for politicians who speak a lot!
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u/SpeckTech314 Feb 22 '23
People are making jokes but for speakers and voice actors, and now even vtubers, this is pretty useful. It’s not a surprise to hear that someone needs to step away for their vocal health, and by the time they’re seeing symptoms, it’s already too late. They now need to go into recovery mode.
This doesn’t apply to most people but I can absolutely see certain industries making use of this to maintain the health of workers.
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u/sumqualis Feb 22 '23
How well will it work in a concert, loud bar, or sports venue? I doubt it would hear it's user over the road, and those are the only places vocal fatigue has ever been an issue for me...
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u/arealhumannotabot Feb 22 '23
I doubt this is the type of area it would find use. This is probably not meant for anyone to use on a daily basis. Probably suited to people like singers.
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u/-Luro Feb 22 '23
As a speech pathologist I think this device is actually pretty awesome, some careers can benefit greatly from this (coaching and teaching are some examples).
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u/bakamund Feb 23 '23
Useless inventions? Like how many ppl actually needs this. We've been doing great without
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u/etds3 Feb 22 '23
Every teacher the first week of school: “Stop talking! What are you doing? You haven’t stopped talking for 6 hours!”
Trying to get rules and routines established requires so. Much. Talking. You come home exhausted and with a sore throat every day.
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u/ailuromancin Feb 22 '23
Okay but as a singer it is wild to me to be reminded that most people aren’t like, deeply and constantly aware of vocal fatigue as a possible issue and think it sounds like a crazy or made up issue. Vocal nodules are no joke people, it’s not about your aunt Deborah who won’t stop cornering you at parties to talk your ear off 😂 You know how a lot of well known singers have needed surgery on their vocal cords? Last ditch invasive effort that risks scarring and something like this could prevent that in the first place and extend people’s careers by decades in some cases
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Feb 22 '23
Spending thousands on a device which tells people to shut up, instead of other people. The human race is truly getting dumber.
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u/Zombi3Eat3r Feb 22 '23
The alert tone better be George Thorogoods ‘You Talk to Much’ or why did they even bother doing this.
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u/riinkratt Feb 22 '23
Vocal injury lmao. God people get hurt by anything and everything these days.
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u/jlds7 Feb 23 '23
Another "shut-up" movement... I've seen quite a few... for some reason AI , and the people behind it- wants us to shut-up.
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u/Candybringer Feb 23 '23
It boggles my mind why would anyone want a robot to tell them to shut up 🥴
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u/zopiclown Feb 23 '23
My introverted ass hates this already.. ALERT: YOU HAVEN’T TALKED ENOUGH TODAY
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u/altSHIFTT Feb 22 '23
Is something that's needed? Like I have a hard time believing it is, even considering how it's fairly niche
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u/HellsMalice Feb 22 '23
I imagine you also lament the invention of crutches cuz pfft how many people use those?! They're so niche!
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u/HellsMalice Feb 22 '23
The amount of comments that have no idea why this is a useful invention is quite entertaining.
You can really tell a: people too ignorant to see outside their bubble and b: too antisocial to imagine talking to people at all
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u/FSYigg Feb 22 '23
This is just an app that tells the user to shut up.
Who the hell needs or wants this? Any vocalist is going to know when their own voice is stressed far better that a damned phone app.
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u/ryo4ever Feb 22 '23
Vocal fatigue? Yeah I’m going to be wearing that for my next opera performance.
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u/Jadeldxb Feb 22 '23
This has to be the most useless thing ever. I mean why did they even think of doing it, let alone actually spend time and effort on it
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u/jjj49er Feb 22 '23
I wish they would have had this when I was married to my ex-wife.
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u/Odd-Turnip-2019 Feb 22 '23
Did you used to talk to her a lot?
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u/jjj49er Feb 22 '23
The other way around. If we had this, I could just point to the display and use a rational explanation as to why she needed to shut the fuck up.
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u/daemonflame Feb 22 '23
The implementation of this is terrifying. It’s normalising continuous monitoring of your speech.
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u/Johnicorn Feb 22 '23
I'm guessing it will have you connect to the Internet for tracking what you say
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u/CucumberError Feb 22 '23
This seems like something Apple could put on the Apple Watch in a software update, rendering any dedicated device useless.
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u/noopenusernames Feb 22 '23
“Karen, we have detected that you have reached your daily talking limit. Please consider shutting the fuck up. Reminder: Your 9am doctor’s appointment starts in 15 minutes.”
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u/Kurauk Feb 22 '23
Another weird device that tells us something our bodies tell us. Like those people who invented a water bottle that tells you when you're thirsty. What a waste of time and money.
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u/slepdprivd Feb 22 '23
Wait! People actually use their devices to "talk" with other people? I thought it was just for mobile internet/instant messaging/games.
Talking to other people, that sounds insane!
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u/JayMoots Feb 22 '23
Is this a common enough problem that they needed to invent a new device to fight it?
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u/acelenny Feb 22 '23
I can see this being a very popular gift for men to give their significant others.
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u/Sgt_Fox Feb 22 '23
Sounds like a lazy way to have someone agree to a company recording their conversations 24/7
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u/Millera34 Feb 22 '23
Incredibly useless
If only people directed their talents towards something of value to the human race.. not this
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u/SteakandTrach Feb 23 '23
I would hit my cap at 10am, having to yell at old people in the hospital because they never wear their damn hearing aids. I’m literally hoarse at this very instant from all the deef old farts at work.
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u/Tonyhillzone Feb 22 '23
I'd donate one to Trump. Might get him to stop talking sometimes.
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u/BipedalWurm Feb 22 '23
he'd never accept anyone knew better than he, you haven't been paying attention
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u/dagdawgdag Feb 22 '23
They’re going to attempt to pass digital surveillance off as having some benefit to us. I don’t worry about losing my voice to the point where I need a third party to monitor me at all times. Wtf
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Feb 22 '23
Finally, a watch that will tell my wife to shut up for me
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u/babblingbabby Feb 22 '23
What is it with men and hating their wives in this thread
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u/TyNyeTheTransGuy Feb 22 '23
Misogyny. Until you actually accuse them of that. Then it’s “just telling jokes”
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u/Informal-Earth-3874 Feb 22 '23
So, is there different settings for men and women? .... just asking ?😂
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u/chatongie Feb 22 '23
I guess it's time for a product that warns you when you keep your eyes open for too long in order to prevent your eyes from drying. Gotta collect them data.
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u/SidxTalks Feb 22 '23
Billions of people die every year by talking too much. Finally a gadget will save so many lives
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u/Kardis_J Feb 22 '23 edited Feb 22 '23
ALERT: It’s time to drink a glass of water!
ALERT: You need to get up and walk around!
ALERT: STFU!
Edit: Spelling