Answer

I don’t think there are fixed rules here. For many people, I assume there is benefit in letting their ears hear what they are learning, but I don’t think this is connected (at least not necessarily) to the logic in which you believe. In auditory logic, we are not talking about physical hearing. We are talking about the Oral Torah, which is not written down and therefore is said aloud. But the saying is a necessity (because it is not written), not the essence of the matter.
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Questioner (another one):
In connection with this question, in your opinion can one fulfill the commandment of Torah study by thinking it in one’s heart, or must it be voiced aloud?
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The Rabbi:
There has been much discussion of this topic, but in my humble opinion simple reasoning indicates that one fulfills the commandment of Torah study even through thought. True, the halakhic decisors debated whether the blessing over Torah study applies to thought, but plainly that hesitation concerns only the definition of the blessing, not the parameters of the commandment of Torah study itself (and especially there is no room for this if the blessing over Torah study is not a blessing over commandments but a blessing of praise). And see the Vilna Gaon’s words there, where he wrote this explicitly even regarding the blessing.
And I found support for my view in the words of Rabbi Azaria Ariel here: http://www.yeshiva.org.il/ask/84965
There is much more to elaborate on here, but this is not the place.
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Questioner:
Following up on this question, is there reason to refrain from thinking words of Torah without a head covering, or before the morning ritual hand-washing, or before the morning blessing over Torah study? And regarding writing words of Torah on a computer, is that equivalent to thought, or perhaps more stringent, so that maybe it requires a head covering / morning ritual hand-washing / the morning blessings over Torah study?
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The Rabbi:
Seemingly this depends on whether thought is considered like speech or not. Even if you fulfill the commandment of Torah study through thought, ritual hand-washing and a head covering are not necessarily conditions for fulfilling the commandment of Torah study; rather, they are a matter of honoring the Torah itself. Therefore there is room to distinguish and say that even if through thought you fulfill the commandment, there is no obligation for a head covering or hand-washing until you actually speak words of Torah. But there is definitely also room to require it. It seems to me there is room to be stringent about this.
 
Writing is more stringent, because there are opinions that writing is like speech. And thought is certainly present in writing. It seems to me that here it is fairly clear that ritual hand-washing and a head covering are required.
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Questioner:
The question is what the law would be regarding someone who sometimes wakes up at night and thinks words of Torah in bed until he falls asleep again. Should one be stringent and wash hands and put on a head covering in such a situation? Also, should one refrain from thinking words of Torah before reciting the morning blessings (and the blessings over Torah study) in the synagogue?
 
As for writing, I do not mean serious Torah writing, but jotting down short points that came to mind (say, when waking up in the middle of the night) in order not to forget them.
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The Rabbi:
Intuitively it seems to me that reminders are something else. There is certainly room to be lenient so as not to forget and lose the ideas (after all, that certainly is not honoring the Torah, so it makes sense not to say such a thing if our purpose in hand-washing and a head covering is to honor it). And perhaps one could say that reminders are not in the category of Torah study but rather preparations for a commandment. In general, it seems to me that something incidental is different. It is not like sitting down to study.
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Questioner:
Would even incidental thought about words of Torah be permitted in the bathroom?
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The Rabbi:
Thinking words of Torah is forbidden even in the laws of the bathroom themselves (see Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 85:2).
However, several halakhic decisors qualified this in a situation where such thoughts come to him on their own. For example, Rabbenu Manoach as cited in Beit Yosef. See Ateret Tzvi there, who wrote:
Beit Yosef wrote in the name of Rabbi Manoach [Laws of Shema 3:4]: specifically, it is forbidden ab initio to direct one’s thought and heart to think words of Torah; but if one’s learning was fluent in his mouth and he thought of it involuntarily, it is permitted, end quote.
And similarly in Olat Tamid there:
“And even to think…” words of Torah, etc. Rabbi Manoach [Sefer HaMenuchah, Laws of Shema 3:4] wrote in the name of the Jerusalem Talmud [Berakhot 3:2] that it is permitted to think words of Torah in the bathroom, and this does not disagree with our Talmud, for when we say it is forbidden to think, that applies specifically ab initio—that is, to direct one’s thought and heart to think words of Torah; but if one’s learning was fluent in his mouth and he thought of it involuntarily, it is permitted, end quote. And some support for this is also evident in our Talmud in the chapter Tevul Yom [Zevachim 102b]: Rabbah said, I learned this law from Rabbi אלעזר son of Rabbi Shimon in the bathroom. It is written in Sefer Chasidim [sec. 28] that if a sinful thought comes to a person in the bathroom, it is permitted to think words of Torah in order to separate him from transgression.
And the Mishnah Berurah there, sec. 8, wrote:
And the reason thought is forbidden in all these places is because we require “and your camp shall be holy,” and that is lacking [Shabbat 151b]. Beit Yosef wrote: one whose learning is fluent in his mouth and who thought in the bathroom or bathhouse involuntarily—it is permitted. Some say that since he is compelled by his thoughts, he may even articulate it with his lips, and so it seems from Zevachim 102b. But in the book Birkei Yosef he concludes that speech is forbidden in all circumstances, and the proof from the Gemara can be rejected as explained there by the author of Berakhat HaZevach and Tzon Kodashim, see there. And what he wrote, that if he thought involuntarily it is permitted, means that if he did think, he did not commit a transgression since it was involuntary; however, ab initio a person is obligated to push the thought away, and all the more so speech is forbidden. And so too it is written in the book Yeshuot Yaakov, that speech is forbidden.
At first glance it is difficult: what is the point of discussing a case where he thought of it involuntarily? Even if the thing is forbidden, what practical difference would that make—was it in his control? And how could the Birkei Yosef forbid uttering it verbally if he is compelled? And what room is there for Beit Yosef to permit verbalizing it ab initio? Therefore it seems that the intent is that there is no need to make special efforts to prevent the thought from arising. If the thought comes on its own, that is permitted (and according to Beit Yosef, one may even verbalize it). But one should not deliberately direct his mind, from the outset, to think words of Torah.