Several external and internal factors prevent proper listening. Environmental, emotional, physical, and personal aspects affect successful listening.

1. Environmental factors hindering appropriate listening include noise (telephones ringing, doors slamming), mechanical sounds (loud car radios and cell phones, jet engines), people sounds (noisy laughter, delighted squeals), and physical conditions of the setting (uncomfortable temperature, poor lighting, or malfunctioning sound systems).
2. Emotional barriers vary with individuals and are harmful to listening success. These barriers are seldom observable and occur within the listener's mind. Emotional obstructions include anger, sadness, and worry. (Schilling, 2005).
3. A person's listening ability can be impaired by internal physical causes, such as poor hearing, fatigue, and illness of the listener - even a slight headache. Hunger and thirst may also affect listening proficiency (Schilling, 2005).
4. Personal aspects can be a detriment to good listening. A speaker's lack of eye contact, mannerisms, voice, and delivery may deter listening, and a speaker's appearance may be distracting and serve as a listening barrier.