Those who are not fully educated in communication tend to confuse the terms “hearing” and “listening”. Although they seem to mean the same thing, use the same part of the body, and are both necessary for functional communication, there is a big difference between these two actions. Hearing involves perceiving sound using the ears, while listening relies on paying attention to the perceived sound. Additionally, since these concepts are different, there are also several ways to improve hearing and listening. There are therefore several differences between these two concepts, and it is important to signify these differences in order to practice effective communication. Hearing is known to be an automatic function of the body. According to the dictionary, hearing is “the faculty or sense by which sound is perceived; the act of perceiving sound” (“hearing…”). Hearing is a physical and involuntary act; therefore, unless born with a specific form of deafness, everyone has the natural ability to hear sounds. Sounds constantly surround us in our daily environment, and because we are so used to hearing certain sounds, we sometimes don't recognize them at all (or "listen" to them). The dictionary definition of listening is: “paying attention with the ear; attend attentively for the purposes of hearing” (“listen…”). It differs from listening in that it is a voluntary action and we control what we choose to listen to. As William Seiler and Melissa Beall said, “You don’t have to work to hear; it just happens…Listening, on the other hand, is active and requires energy and desire” (145). To further this argument, it was noted that listening, in addition to requiring...... middle of paper ......Listening Skills&id=179402>.Goldmann, John. “5 ways to improve your hearing.” Personal dream. Np, February 6, 2007. Internet. March 28, 2011.5-ways-to-improve-your-hearing.html>."hearing." Dictionary.com full version. Random House, Inc. Web. March 27, 2011.."listen." Dictionary.com full version. Random House, Inc. Web. March 27, 2011..Moreland, Earl. “Difference between hearing and hearing abilities.” eHow.com. Demand Media Inc., 2011. Web. March 27, 2011. fact_5001888_difference-between-hearing-listening-skills.html>. Seiler, William J and Melissa L Beall. Communication: making connections. New York: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2007. Print.