https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgkjvr7x5x6o
Whether it’s the echo of beeping tills in a supermarket or the hissing of a coffee machine in your local café, the brain is constantly working to decode hundreds of noises each day.
But, for some, those background noises can become so overwhelming that they distract them from recognising voices or alerts.
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But Claire Benton, vice-president of the British Academy of Audiology, suggests that by blocking everyday sounds such as cars beeping, there is a possibility the brain can “forget” to filter out the noise.
“You have almost created this false environment by wearing those headphones of only listening to what you want to listen to. You are not having to work at it,” she said.
“Those more complex, high-level listening skills in your brain only really finish developing towards your late teens. So, if you have only been wearing noise-cancelling headphones and been in this false world for your late teens then you are slightly delaying your ability to process speech and noise,” Benton suggests.