A device, such as a head-mounted wearable device (HMWD), provides audible notifications to a user with a voice user interface (VUI). A filtered subset of notifications addressed to the user, such as notifications from contacts associated with specified applications, are processed by a text to speech system that generates audio output for presentation to the user. The audio output may be presented using the HMWD. For example, the audio output generated from a text message received from a contact may be played on the device. The user may provide an input to play the notification again, initiate a reply, or take another action. The input may comprise a gesture on a touch sensor, activation of a button, verbal input acquired by a microphone, and so forth.