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@dancing james
That was not the claim made. The assertion is that eyes are better for assessing the road than ears. Visual confirmation is much much stronger than assuming hearing is giving accurate location - for example when you hear a police siren how often do you guess correctly from which direction the car is coming if you are at a crossroads? Sound reflects and bounces so is a very unreliable way to guage where things are.
By wearing headphones it makes you aware of how much you try to use your ears to assess location and hopefully will make you more likely to use your eyes and observe what is going on. Direct observation is much safer. Many cyclists barely look behind themselves. Whereas the safer approach to take is that if you don't know what is behind you then you ought to be taking a look.