I'm am very aware of my base. I became aware of my Ne before typing myself as Ne base. I thought I was a certain type that valued Ni but had over stretched Ne to the point being more evident to outsiders. People also often told me that my language and text structures were very Ne. I do think your base is more evident to outsiders though, because our brains works by spotting contrasts, so it's easier to see Ne in others when you don't have it (or the way your mind works is different).