Difference Between Listening and Hearing

Listening vs Hearing

Since hearing and listening seem to be very closely related, it is important to understand the difference between listening and hearing. Listening and hearing are both kinds of sense that are processed by the brain through the ear. It is the most effective communication between each other, hearing is already a capability we are born with, except if you are deaf or mute or when you are a hearing-impaired individual. Hearing comes from the word hear while listening is created from the word listen. The main difference between listening and hearing can be put in this way. Hearing does not need our intention, but to listen we need to have an intention of hearing the sounds.

What does Listening mean?

Listening is the processing of sounds to understand the meaning behind it. Listening requires your brain to work out every bit of sounds to form words or sentences that you can understand. Most memories are inculcated into our brain due to the reason that we listen carefully to every sound, words, and music that we hear. In order to understand what the other person is talking about, we must listen to him or her. As mentioned earlier, listening comes from the verb listen. Now, this verb listen has its origin in the Old English word hlysnan. Also, listen in is one phrasal verb of the verb listen.

What does Hearing mean?

Hearing is an inborn trait of any individual. When we are born, it will take about a month’s time before we can hear an assortment of sounds. However, hearing is just receiving the sounds from the ear, most often we do not process the sounds. We simply sense that our environment is noisy, but we do not know the cause behind the noise, which is hearing.

In the field of Law, hearing means ” an act of listening to evidence in a court of law or before an official, especially a trial before a judge without a jury.”

Difference Between Listening and Hearing

What is the difference between Listening and Hearing?

Listening and hearing may be both sensed through our ears but beyond that listening is very different to hearing. Hearing is just the perception that there are several sounds going through your ear while listening is parsing every part of the sound and understanding what it is meant. Therefore, listening begets understanding while hearing does not. Aside from this, listening requires attentiveness and concentration which requires your brain to work. On the other hand, hearing is more like of a sense. So when somebody gives you an oral instruction, it is always a wise decision to listen and not only hear.

If you want to understand and learn knowledge always use your ears to listen and not just to hear words.


Hearing vs Listening

• Hearing is a sense or perception of sounds through the ear while listening is deciphering the meaning behind the sounds.

• The key to learning and understanding is through listening.

• Hearing is just a God-given capability, while listening is a skill that needs to be learned and constantly practiced .