Meanings
- uncountableA reluctance or aversion to listening to new styles of music.
An interesting concept that has gained some momentum over the last twenty years has been that of open and closed-earedness.
2010, John Flohr, Valerie Trollinger, Music in Elementary Education, Hoboken, N.J.: Prentice Hall, →ISBN3 more examples
Children appear to experience phases of 'open-earedness', such as middle childhood, where they tolerate a large amount of musical styles, and 'closed-earedness', such as adolescence, where their preferences are far more constrained.
2011, Ian Cross, Michael Thaut, Susan Hallam, Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 238In childhood we are 'open-eared' and like lots of different things. In adolescence we have a period of 'closed-earedness', when we pick our allegiances and music is very important.
2018 March 25, James Gillespie, quoting Alexandra Lamont, “Teenage picks: our musical taste set by 14”, in The Times, archived from the original on 06 Jul 2021All this research implies that lasting preferences seem likely to be formed at the critical adolescent period, coinciding with a phase of closed-earedness, although they are subject to further development over the lifespan.
2020, Alexandra Lamont, Catherine Loveday, “A New Framework for Understanding Memories and Preference for Music”, in Music & Science, volume 3, Thousand Oaks, C.A.: SAGE Publishing, →DOI, →ISSNAntonyms: open-earedness
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA reluctance or aversion to listening to new styles of music.
Origin
Cite this entry
closed-earedness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closed-earedness
“closed-earedness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closed-earedness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “closed-earedness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/closed-earedness.
Source: closed-earedness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.