Being part of an international research community means, and has always meant, a) learning the lingua franca (so to speak) of the field - some of us are lucky enough to skip this step because we were born into it - and b) learning to understand the wide range of accents that the language will be spoken in, again much simpler for us native speakers.
If because of auditory disability or "tin ear" you can't understand non-native speakers, then your ability to interact in the international community will be greatly limited. You can try only talking to locals or using only written communication, but you'd be better off trying to improve your skills through practice.