The only one thing that you requested was for the trash to be taken out. A little bit later you realize your partner failed to do it. “I Didn’t hear you”, they say. Funny how that works, how your partner didn’t hear the one thing you requested from them. The colloquial term for this is “selective hearing,” and it’s often a sign of failed communication.
We tend to view selective hearing as a negative, kind of like it’s a character flaw. It’s like you’re accusing somebody of purposely not listening. But selective hearing could actually be connected to untreated hearing loss instead of a short attention span.
What is selective hearing?
You’ve likely been accused of selective hearing at some point in your life, even if nobody used that specific name. When you miss all the things you don’t want to hear but hear everything else, that’s selective hearing. You hear the part about making a delicious meal but miss the part about cleaning up the dishes. Things like that.
As a behavior, selective hearing is extremely common. However, most research points to men failing to hear their partners more frequently than women.
It might be tempting to draw some social conclusions from that (and the way that people are socialized definitely does play into how this behavior is contextualized). But hearing health is likely another major aspect. If your “selective hearing” begins to become more common, it might be a clue that you may have undiagnosed hearing loss.
Communication can be impacted by hearing loss
Undiagnosed hearing loss can indeed make communication a lot more difficult. You’re most likely not surprised by that.
But here’s the thing: oftentimes, communication issues are an indication of hearing loss.
Symptoms can be very difficult to notice when hearing loss is in the early phases. Maybe you start turning the volume on your tv up. When go out to your local haunt, you have a difficult time hearing what people are saying. You probably just presume it’s because of the loud music. But besides scenarios like that, you might never even observe how loud day-to-day sounds can be. Your hearing can slowly deteriorate because of this. Up to the time you’re having trouble following daily conversations, you almost don’t notice.
Your partner is becoming worried about the health of your hearing
You will notice some of the people in your life are beginning to be concerned. Your friends and family will most likely be frustrated when they think you’re purposely ignoring what they say. But as it happens more and more often, irritation might turn to concern.
And your partner may want you to find out what’s going on by having you schedule a hearing test.
It’s important to listen to your partner’s concerns. Talk openly with them and accept their help because they care about your well-being and aren’t simply aggravated with you.
Early hearing loss has a few other signs
If your selective hearing is getting worse over time, it might be worth watching out for some of these other early indications of hearing loss. Here are a few of those signs:
- Hearing in crowds is challenging
- People sound distant or muffled when they talk
- Having a difficult time distinguishing consonants
- Having to ask others to talk louder or slow down
- Cranking up the volume on your mobile phone, television, or radio
You should contact us for a hearing exam if you experience any of these symptoms.
Use ear protection
It’s crucial that you take measures to protect your ears so that you can prevent hearing loss. If you can’t avoid overly loud noise, make sure you wear hearing protection, like muffs or plugs. Hearing aids can also help you communicate effectively, which can smooth over many rough spots that your hearing loss may have caused in the first place.
A diminishing attention span will be responsible for the majority of selective hearing situations in your life. But you may want to take it as a signal that it’s time to get a hearing test when people around you start to notice your selective hearing getting worse.