Research abstract

Research: Huh? Seeing But Not Hearing – Inattentional Deafness with Visual Overload

Does your child not hear you when focusing on something on a page or on a screen? Well thanks to new research this might not be as strange as once thought. By Fernette Eide

Laura Lurns Last updated October 28, 2016 · 1 min read

Studies show that people can suffer from inattentional deafness. Not to say people are deaf. But too many visual stimuli tend to overtake audible hearing. Consequently people will not hear back ground noise if they are focused on a visual task. Visual overload can affect people in many ways. You may not even notice that it is happening.

This problem becomes difficult for normal people and may be misdiagnosed as ADD. However it is very common within the population. Studies have shown the difficulty of inattentional deafness may affect those with dyslexia more than others. However in the general population it may affect our daily lives. When visually loaded you may not hear the doorbell ring for example.

Key takeaways

Scientists at University College London have found that healthy adults displayed “inattention deafness” while completing a visually-challenging task, suggesting attention is split between visions and hearing.
While inattention deafness is classically considered to be a symptom of ADD, the study suggests that everyone has inattention deafness to some degree.
Inattention deafness may be particularly high among people with dyslexia, because they need to focus more on crowded visuals and thus have less attention left over for hearing.

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A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.

Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert Writes about the learning brain for parents who want plain answers. Every article is grounded in current neuroscience and classroom practice.

Key takeaways

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