Its listening as you use your ears. For reading, you need your eyes to be centred towards the text.
But both provide for the same purpose so, listening and reading are similar here.
For example they are just like a bike and a car. Both are means of transport, however very different but used in the same purpose.
We have five senses. They are very different to each other in many ways. But sometimes, one sense can lead to same result as the other can. For example, the food that smells good will definitely be tasteful.