The posts here seem to be about missing a boarding or flight or similar announcement. There is also a possibility of missing a very real emergency announcement. My experience early last July made me think about that a bit more.
My wife and I were at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (9th busiest in the US) in early July. Even wearing some top of the line HAs, I cannot understand public announcements so I depend on my wife for audio info as usual. Anyway she was at our gate and I was walking around the terminal. Suddenly there were emergency lights flashing everywhere and a PA saying "Attention please give me you attention waa waa waaa. That announcement played four or five times over the next five minutes or so. I never understood any more of the message. Even so, everyone just seemed to be going about their normal business. When I got back to my wife I asked her what was going on. She was shocked that I had no idea that the announcement said “a fire has been reported in the terminal, please evacuate the terminal!” The only reason she was still at the gate was that the airline folks at our gate had told the passengers that there was no immediate danger and do not leave the gate area. The very last announcement had been a “never mind” with the emergency flashing lights then being turned off.
If the emergency had been real, there is no telling how this story would have ended. This airport’s emergency plan seem to be just tell hundreds (if not thousands) of folks to evacuate with no other instructions or directions. I could have been in stampede, still clueless.