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Hearing Vs Listening

Someone rightly said, “Hearing is through ears, but listening is through the mind.” The two activities hearing and listening involve the use of ears, but they are different. The hearing is nothing but a sense that helps you receive sound waves and noise by ears. It is the power of perceiving sounds.

On the contrary, listening is when you receive the sound waves and understand it by paying full attention to the words and sentences of the speaker. It is one’s ability to correctly receive and interpret the message transferred by the other party in the process of communication.


Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR COMPARISONHEARINGLISTENING
MeaningHearing refers to one's ability to perceive sounds, by receiving vibrations through ears.Listening is something done consciously, that involve the analysis and understanding of the sounds you hear.
What is it?An abilityA skill
NaturePrimary and continuousSecondary and temporary
ActPhysiologicalPsychological
InvolvesReceipt of a message through ears.Interpretation of the message received by ears.
ProcessPassive bodily processActive mental process
Occurs atSubconscious levelConscious level
Use of sensesOnly oneMore than one
ReasonWe are neither aware nor we have any control over the sounds we hear.We listen to acquire knowledge and receive information.
ConcentrationNot requiredRequired

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