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Listening is the ability to consciously use one's ear for the
purpose of communication.
Unfortunately, when listening is excessively disturbed, various
problems concerning the possibility and desire to communicate
efficiently with others will arise.
Indeed, as the saying goes, the worst kind of deafness is that
of the person who doesn't want to hear.
Let us recall that having good
listening does not necessarily imply having good hearing.
Listening is characterised at the same time by a real
intention to communicate as well as by the quality of
perception and interpretation of the acoustic message
received.
Therefore, it is evaluated on the basis of how we use our
hearing and not by its level of sensitivity.
Although the term 'communication problems' is indubitably very
general, and although difficulties in communication can have
very diverse and varied causes, the fact remains that a
considerable proportion of these difficulties are rooted in
proven distortions of the listening function.
Tomatis very clearly showed that these difficulties could be
identified and assessed directly by evaluating the degree of
overall distortion of the listening function.
In reality, this function is defined as the particular
combination of a set of perceptive mechanisms, each
corresponding to a specific dimension of listening. Each of
these dimensions is itself revealed by an indicator which is
measurable and which reflects the workings of the process it
corresponds to. Together, these measurements define a
particular combination of the activity of the various
mechanisms constituting the listening function. This
combination, which can be considered as an operating profile
specific to every individual is called a
'listening test'
Seven principal dimensions constituting the listening function
have been defined: the harmonic composition, the degree of
adaptation, intrinsic selectivity, extrinsic selectivity,
spatialisation, balance, and laterality. These parameters are
first measured and then precisely explained during an initial
consultation taking place in a Tomatis centre.
Thus, depending on the listening test, which represents a
synthesis of the overall listening distortion, the
difficulties in communication may take on very different
forms.
For example, they can manifest themselves through an
inability to accept and receive the sounds which surround us
without perceiving them as aggressive towards us: the
beeping of a car, the slamming of a door, the high noise
volume in a restaurant, but also certain voices, such as that
of a work colleague, a parent, a friend...
For some people, the disorder can
be to do with a difficulty to quickly grasp the
meaning of a verbal message, even when simple, although the
latter is perfectly heard, and with a tendency to mobilise all
of one's resources of attention to verify if the
interpretation of the same message is erroneous or correct.
For others, it will be an
impossibility to use their voice as a true communication tool,
due to a lack of control over its different prosodic
components: intonation, inflexions, rhythm, intensity.
Independently of any intention on the part of the speaker, the
voice will be then be perceived as aggressive, cold, or devoid
of any power of expression by the interlocutor receiving it.
These few examples give us an insight into the underlying
consequences of listening problems: if the distortion in
listening is too firmly engrained, it will entail the loss of
the desire to listen which in turn will generate a decline in
the desire or the will to communicate, whether because of
resignation, discouragement or a lack of confidence resulting
from difficulties communicating efficiently.
Consequently, one can understand the benefits a
therapy based on educating listening which focuses on fully
restoring relational and expressive ability in a person
suffering from difficulties in communication.
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