physiology and psychology of hearing

Of course none of us hear the same for many reasons but it's amazing to me how many people don't have the mental discernment to realize the vast subjectivity that goes along with listening.

Thank you for the link.  The medical term for what the content developer discusses is “auditory processing disorder” (ADP) - a disorder affecting the ability of the brain to process sound without loss of hearing sensitivity.  It manifests in one or more of the following conditions including:  Difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, Difficulty following multi-step directions, Difficulty reading, spelling, and/or writing, Difficulty remembering and summarizing information, Difficulty knowing where a sound came from, Difficulty in discerning one sound or one frequency from another, Difficulty listening to music.  

Two of the many causes are genetics (as described by the content developer as differences in individuals) and, as in my case, age.  I have the first on the list. When in a noisy environment I focus on the noise and not the direct sound.   The Otolaryngologist has informed me my hearing is above average but this form of APD is common for my age.  It is a source of frustration for my wife when I do not hear what she says when there is background noise. 

When in junior high school (middle school for the younger), I was in the orchestra playing bass.  My music teacher wanted me to go to the NYC HS of Music and Art for music and my art teacher for art.  My parents said no.  I continued in high school but that was the extent of my training.  I have near perfect pitch.  If I hear a note I cannot tell you what it is from memory, but I can go to a piano keyboard and play that note.  If I hear a song, I can play the melody and build the cords easily, with awful technique since I had never had piano lessons.  I am in retirement for a year.  I want to now take piano lessons.  I will start soon. 

@mihorn - so you're saying it's physically impossible for a woman to be an 'audiophile'? I wouldn't think they were mutually exclusive, but that's just me. 

Difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, Difficulty following multi-step directions, Difficulty reading, spelling, and/or writing, Difficulty remembering and summarizing information, Difficulty knowing where a sound came from, Difficulty in discerning one sound or one frequency from another, Difficulty listening to (my) music.  

Sound like marriage... '-)

In other words spousal selective hearing or pushing the mute button on the TV remote.