[CAUTION: I am not a teacher:take the advice and or corrections offered in this post at your own risk.
If you doubt the information, please get a qualified opinion from one of the teachers on these forums.] Quote:
Originally Posted by weiming  I would go even further to say this saying implies the ears of many, and not the two ears of a person, but I can't prove that, it's just a feeling.
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Each reference here shows the prhase to be referring to to groups of people.
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingsf.htm
RonBee>
I personally would never use such a formal phrase in the colloquial, informal context of your first example.
The second example you provide (clearly indicating the plural and a Newspaper-like formality) is the sense in which I would use this phrase.
But then as I've clearly mentioned, this is my own personal preference.
For the interested, I would suggest "turn a deaf ear" when referring to an individual or group informally as:
Harold turned a deaf ear to my suggestion.