When someone is talking to you while you are watching an important episode of your favourite series, say Bridgerton, you are most likely not to hear what the person is saying. Selective hearing. People tend to hear what they want to hear. Selective hearing is the ability to listen to a single speaker while in a crowded or loud environment. The ability to lock out certain sounds from your ear. It is also known as selective auditory attention or cocktail party effect. Selective hearing is a helpful phenomenon though it can be problematic if you should be paying attention to certain information being communicated.
Selective hearing works in reference to goals, vision and brain activity patterns. When it comes to goals, the brain chooses what to listen to based on what you are trying to do or achieve. This comes in when you are focused on completing your favourite series and someone is talking to you. High chances are that you won’t listen to what the person is saying since your goal is to complete the series. It’s your main priority. Vision is important in hearing. Visual cues are an important part of selective hearing. You are most likely to pay attention to someone you see rather than someone out of sight.
Listening also depends on brain activity. The brain does not reflect on sounds in the environment but what it wants to hear. The brain allows you to identify and pay attention to important auditory information while filtering out background noise. Sometimes selective hearing is as a result of aging. Other factors that are related to partial hearing loss are diabetes, exposure to loud noises, poor circulation, smoking, use of certain medication and family history of partial hearing loss.
Sensory information including sound comes in and the brain processes it by :
- Filtering and enhancing (the brain alerts you when someone calls out your name)
- Selective perception (when you don’t enjoy your favourite meal when anxious)
- Sensory contrast (it’s like a candle’s effect in a dark room and candle and sunshine)
- Prioritizing (the feel of cloth is unimportant unless there is a tag abrading the skin)
Selective hearing might come as a challenge to many. Here are some tips on how to be a better listener. Firstly, learn how to pay attention. You can program your brain to listen to important information. Secondly, ask questions frequently in a conversation. It helps with concentration. Thirdly, mind your own biases and summarize. The brain prioritizes sound that is important to you. Selective hearing comes in handy sometimes. Like an unhealthy argument. You can simply turn it down and remain unbothered. It’s a gift in disguise.
Ps. Just Saying.
JUST SAYING 