Why can't I hear questions in foreign language unless I'm focus? Howdy :-) Basically, I cannot hear questions asked to me "in the background". For example, imagine that I'm watching TV and not paying attention to a conversion. Then, someone asks me "Hey, do you want tea?" (in a foreign language, e.g. Spanish). I simply cannot hear this question. The problem hasn't got anything to do with comprehension; because if this person follows up and yells "Hey! Oli! Listen!" to get my attention, then I can understand the question perfectly well once I'm focused. It's almost as if my brain switches the "foreign language mode" on and off depending of whether I'm in a conversion to not. It's a big problem that causes a lot of awkward situations. I don't know how to solve it. Does anyone struggle with something similar? Is there anything that I can do to improve this? Cheers! Oli