Members in the Media
From: National Post

Spouses learn to ignore each other’s voices over time, study says

National Post:

Middle-aged couples are able to tune out each other’s voices selectively so that they can pay more attention to other people, a study suggests.

Husbands and wives become so familiar with one another’s pitch and sound that they become more simple to separate from background noise.

While this makes it easier to focus on each other’s voices, for example when having a conversation on a noisy train, it also makes it easier to “tune out.”

However, the ability to ignore your partner declines with age as older people find it harder to listen to one voice at the expense of another

However, the ability to ignore your partner declines with age as older people find it harder to listen to one voice at the expense of another, the study found.

Researchers from Queen’s University in Canada said that familiar voices, such as those of a spouse, affect the way an “auditory scene” is organized in the mind of a listener.

Read the whole story: The National Post

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