I think being heard means for someone to hear what you have to say and understand what you are saying. That person can listen or act like they are listening, but not really understand what you are trying to say.
If I am not hearing some one it typically is because I'm alreay frustrated with them in one way or another and tune them out. Or I might be listening, but not really understand what they are actually trying to tell me. This might not be on purpose. Some times you can misunderstand people or misinterpret them because of cultural, age, or any other difference.
I don't always know when I am being heard. The only time I really do know that I am being heard is if that person tells me what I said and we can agree on what it means. This could happen through actions as well.

I've been pondering this, and I'm still not sure I'm content with this but I'll give it a shot and hopefully a discussion will be started to help me add to it.
I think, for me, being heard is knowing a person has heard not only what you've said, but what you haven't said. There are only a few key people like that in my life, but they're priceless for that very reason.
There have been time that I have felt like I wasn't being heard. Occasionally, as a woman, I am not heard because of my gender. I have had a lot of male bosses, teachers, friends, who dismiss some of what I say as just silly. That's when I'm not being heard. It angers me, and sometimes I try to do something about it but a lot of times I just get fed up and stop trying. Those people aren't worth my time. I presume that's what students do if and when we don't hear what they're saying.
I know for a fact that there have been times when I have not heard what others are saying. Sometimes I make judgement calls about people that are wrong - but until I am proven wrong, I find it difficult to see the validity in what they are saying. And ultimately, I don't hear them. I've been really trying this week, however, b/c of this question, to notice when I do that.
I think it can be very difficult to really hear people sometimes, because it involves what I said before - hearing what they're not saying. Sometimes it's easier to just shrug off a comment for its face value instead of saying "really? is that what you really mean?"
Anyway, that's what I've come up with about all this.

I think there is a complete difference to "being heard" and "being listened to."
I think in most situations people can usually hear you, but it can be rarely that anyone actually listens to you. One summer a coached my brothers AAU basketball team. The team was made up of mostly 16 and 17 yr olds. Having a coach as young as me was difficult for them at first, and it was difficult for me to coach them in the beginning. I found myself spending a lot of time yelling and screaming at them in practice. My point being, is at the beginning of the season I know the players always heard what I saying, but where they listening? Of course not! I knew that I would have to change some of my methods to get them to listen to me. I stopped some of the screaming and yelling and started talking to them individually, (after practice or sometimes off to the side during practice) and they started to respond really well to what I was saying. Coaching that team was a great experience for me. I hope this example kind of clarifies my statement above.

i find that alot of the times people dont reflect how they would want someone to treat them. I think that we too easily forget what it is to not be really heard when we are trying to listen to others. I think someone said to me once that most conversations are one person talking to the other person, while the other person who is "listening" is just thinking of what to say next. I think that i do this all the time. It hard not to do, but i think that if we jus took in what someone said, and even what they didnt say, like cindy said, and took time to reflect and then respond it would make me feel like a better listener. I think everyone just feels like if they dont respond quick enough someone is gonna think their slow, and not paying attention. isnt that ironic?

my grandpa would always get yelled at my grandma when he didnt respond right away. He would then reply, "Quida, im just thinking about what you said and then i will respond." That always made her feel bad. they really love each other, it was great.

I agree with what Natalie said about just thinking about what you're going to say next instead of really listening to another person. I know I do that frequently which is really lame. I think it's harder than people think to be a good listener and to really "hear" someone else.

I agree with Cindy as far as being heard is when someone is hearing what you say, but also the things you don't say. It is so comforting to know that I have several relationships like that. I can spend hours with these people and sometimes we talk, and other times words are not necessary to communicate. I love that! That is what being truly comfortable with someone is all about.

I feel that most of the time I am heard. I don't know that my parents always "hear" me. Just today I had an incident at Advanced Auto Parts in which I felt "un-heard" because of my gender. I am a girl and I do not know a lot about cars. So the guy looks at me like I just asked the dumbest question in the world. So they are annoyed when we don't know much about things, but there is not a lot done to help us understand. I am sure most people know the feeling I am talking about. I also feel that sometimes I am "un-heard" because of my age. I am listened to a lot more than I used to be, but age definitely plays a role in whether someone really values what I say or thinks it has any importance.

It is hard for me to hear others when I am really upset/mad at them. It is like everything they are saying just infuriates me more. I have to clam down before I can talk to people in such cases. I like, Natalie, often think about what I am going to say next while people are still talking to me. I am not a very good listener. That is something I really need to work on. I don't really hear what people say a lot, but I act as though I am listening. I am bad about interrupting people, as though I feel that my opinion or statement is more important than theirs. It is something about myself that drives me crazy and I am trying to work on it. I also have a really hard time listening to people if I am bored or if I totally disagree with almost everything they are saying.

Being heard means, the person can logically understand, and see your side of the conversation. Even if they do not agree with it, the ability to understand, and respond in a well thought out logical way means that the person heard you.

There is a certain type of hearing that takes over all of us at one time or another and that hearing is called selective hearing. Many times we only hear what we want to hear. We are all guilyt of it, I know I'am. Sometimes it happens when we are just sitting at home and we are told to pick up our dirty socks. And sometimes it happens we we are sitting in a classroom setting like ours. I feel that some people do it on purpose and I think that most of us do it unintentionally. I feel that when I am being heard clearly when the person or persons give me their attention or I recieve some for of educated feedback. They don't have to agree they just need to let me know that they have considered my view point. It is easy to spit out ones own opinions or whatever happens to be on your mind, but it is much harder to sit back and to let others say their peace. Its even harder to give back to them some form of educated feedback about what they just said. Sometimes what is said is very juicy and some times its very bland. Its like drinking good'ole ice cold sweet tea, when its made right you can sit and sip on it all day, but when it's not made right and taste bitter like it's unsweeted, youre might as well just pour that brown water out.

To me, there is a difference between being heard and someone listening. I hear everything that is going on around me but I am unusally very selective in what I listen to. In the last few years of my college classes, I have been given instructions on how to be a listener. Most I have actually tried to apply in my life. Listening is a skill that you have to work at to obtain and must continue to practice in order to keep.

I agree with the ideas presented here about being heard. While reading other responses, I thought of something else. What if being heard just isn't something that is verbal? What if someone is trying to tell you something, but they either can't articulate themselves, or just plain cannot tell you? Being heard, I think, also means paying attention to body language. Sometimes I might be saying one thing, and in order to protect someone's feelings, or to be polite, or whatever, I really mean something else. I think this is true of a child. Sometimes they are are trying to tell us something, I think think it will be our job as teachers to really hear the needs of our students without them always telling us what it is. Sometimes, for example, in an abusive siguation, a student may be crying out by acting up in class, not participating, not doing homework, or whatever.
There's another aspect to being heard for me, too. Just this morning there were about 10 birds outside my front porch. Because it was fairly early, I could hear a lot of "chatter". Not to sound idiotic, but I often wonder what nature has to say and if we can hear. I wonder if the birds are communicating about food, shelter, or whatever else. But, I have often thought that if we can learn to listen, we can learn to hear better.