What term describes the ability to listen to a single voice in a loud room?

The term that accurately describes the ability to listen to a single voice in a loud room is "Cocktail party effect." This phenomenon refers to the brain's ability to focus auditory attention on a particular stimulus, such as a single conversation, while filtering out a range of other stimuli, much like how one can enjoy a conversation at a busy party.

This effect demonstrates how selective auditory processing allows individuals to engage meaningfully with one sound source among many. It highlights the human brain's impressive capacity for distinguishing meaningful sounds from background noise, thus enabling effective communication even in chaotic environments.

While "selective hearing" describes a similar concept, it often implies an inattentiveness to certain sounds rather than an active engagement with one voice amidst noise. "Focused attention" refers to the conscious directing of cognitive resources towards a specific task, which is part of what happens during the cocktail party effect but is broader than just auditory tasks. "Auditory filtering" describes the process of ignoring irrelevant sounds, but is not as commonly used in the context of this specific ability and does not capture the social interaction aspect, which is central to the cocktail party phenomenon.