Listening is a lifelong skill that is necessary for one to make sense of his or her surroundings.Īt Little Listener’s, we work with patients to improve their listening skills with various therapy activities so that they can process, communicate, and interact more effectively with the world around them. We need to process what we hear in order to completely listen, otherwise the sound goes in one ear and out the other.

Some people don’t have the choice, even when their hearing is excellent.

However, this can negatively impact your conversations and relationships with people, if they feel that you’re rarely listening to them. We hear, whether we want to or not, but we need to choose to actively listen. When your mind begins to wander, you’re likely still hearing the other person, but you’re not truly listening to what they have to say. In other words, hearing is passive and involuntary, while listening is active and voluntary. Listen involves effort and focus while hear is about your natural ability to hear even the things. According to Merriam-Webster, hearing is defined as “the process, function, or power of perceiving sound” and listening is defined as “to hear something with thoughtful attention”. When it comes to service, people make the difference Hearing is not the same as listening in other words, receiving sounds is not the same as paying attention. Now you know the difference between listen and hear. We typically use “ hearing” and “ listening” interchangeably, but it’s important to know the difference. It is a physiological reaction involving our perception of sound.

Have you ever talked to someone and felt that they just weren’t getting what you were saying, even though they were nodding along and maintaining eye contact? They could be hearing what you’re saying, but they just aren’t listening. Hearing is an involuntary, sensory mechanism that allows us to perceive sounds.

Listening vs hearing difference