Our brain is constantly interpreting what we see and literally editing things out. We know that very directly, because people say, aren't you listening? And of course, your ears were taking in the sound, but your brain decided to just kind of not take it in. The difference n bill and pill is the amount of time that it takes between the onset of the the movement of the mouth and then theaa vocalization. It's a 30 a second timing difference. Even though the motions that you're making are the same, there is a very, very clear acoustic difference.
We undervalue our sense of hearing and we under-appreciate the impact sweet sounds and disturbing noises have on our well-being. Neuroscientist Nina Kraus of Northwestern University talks about her book, Of Sound Mind. Kraus argues that our listening affects our minds and brains in ways we ignore at our peril.