Have you cleaned your room yet? Is your homework done yet? Have you washed the dishes yet? Can you put the bin out?
A number of questions that for some mysterious reason do not seem to get through to some people. But when you ask them if they want something, they usually respond… We also know this phenomenon as being East Indian deaf. What is it and is there science behind this tactical way of listening? Or is it really hopeless once you have been diagnosed? We are going to delve into that in this blog and who knows, we might even find a solution!
Stubborn children
We often see this form of selective hearing occur in children when they are asked to do something they do not feel like doing. And you can immediately see a motive in that: if I pretend I did not hear it, I do not have to do it. Usually this is refined over time by a steadfast parent who knows how to subtly correct the stubborn child, often by repeating in an increasingly louder tone.
However, this phenomenon also occurs in the somewhat older generations. Is that because they were never corrected? That is possible, but it could also be that the stubbornness they showed as a child never went away. But what seems to be more likely to be caused by the older generations is a lack of attention. We often see that this problem occurs in men. But, wait a minute! It is now 2021 and that means that women can now also listen selectively! A study by Scrivens Hearing Care showed that men miss a conversation an average of 7 times a week and women 6 times. So that is quite balanced. But let's talk about the solution to this. Because is it really someone's fault if he or she hears selectively?
What to do about selective hearing?
Selective hearing is sometimes mentioned as a complaint by partners of people with hearing loss. That is of course difficult, because is it the hearing loss or an uninterested partner? That is actually impossible to say. What can be done about it is to have a hearing test! That way you can at least say with certainty whether your partner is simply not paying attention or whether you are actually not hearing. If there is such a hearing loss, then of course there are aids for that. But what can you do about an uninterested partner? Try the following:
Full attention
Now you have at least some tools in the fight against selective hearing. First check if there is no hearing loss and then follow the handy tips. Does all this still not seem to work? Then here is a tip of the veil… rumors are going around that a leading hearing aid manufacturer is working on making a hearing aid that is completely focused on selective hearing! Keep an eye on our blogs in the coming weeks for a “speech-inducing” revelation!