Michel Chion has described three listening modes:
Causal Listening - listening in order to gather information about its cause.
Semantic Listening - referring to the interpretation of a code or language.
Reduced Listening - a focus on the sound themselves, independent of its cause and meaning.
These three modes of listening involve directed attention; the active and conscious choice to process sounds in order to grasp an understanding.
Conversely, hearing is the act of perceiving sounds indiscriminately.
The cinema is a site for both listening and hearing; active auditory attention and ambient reception.