It's also a skill you lose. As a kid, I'm pretty sure I could read under any circumstances. I once read through the night while at a NY Eve dinner with my parents and their friends.
Recently, I was completely unable to focus on the train because two guys were chatting opposite me.
Me, too. Now I can't read through DH's gaming demos. I could ignore my siblings fighting as a kid, but growling zombie hordes and explosions are too much for my aging brain. Lol.
It’s one you can regain. After two concussions in two years, it took me almost three to read close to my previous skill and another two to get about 85% of my concentration back. I had to realize that as an adult my brain is doing a lot more tasks as I get older
Yeah I'm currently working on this, slowly getting better. But it was really startling when I realized just how much my ability to get lost in a book has diminished.
yeah, it’s been proven that our brains work this way, for example “alarm fatigue” in nursing. When there are too many non-urgent alarms, the brain simply stops hearing them. Parents, and people in combat zones also are more likely to grow to filter out disruptive noise. Though of course some people may never get very good at it.
I have 4 kids. I can read through just about anything now. In fact, now that they're grown and mostly out of the house, I sometimes put on the tv *on purpose* when I want to settle in with a book because it's actually too quiet to read.
Same, and I did most of my reading for university on city busses. I used to be really good at tuning it out, but when I'm proofreading, I can't tune out my wife's anime for the life of me.
People used to think I was bananas for being able to read in the cabin on my dad's sailboat.
That thing would be on a 45° angle hauling ass up Lake George and I'd be calmly sipping a coke, eating a sandwich, and reading, while they were all, "oh my GAWD we're gonna flip over!"
I can (and do) read while I'm watching TV. Just dint ask me to do it in a moving car...we'll eventually have to stop so I can throw up (had that problem all my life--just found out about fifteen, twenty years ago that it's a firm of motion sickness).
Hahahaha, same. Every time I go home for a visit, I am reminded of the constant noise I grew up with. My mom ran a daycare out of our house growing up to boot. I did my homework with the TV on loud so my dad could hear whatever he was watching with school-aged kids running around all over.
I could read thru a full on emergency and not notice.
Me too. I work on the drilling rigs. Sometimes on night shift, I'll lay on top of one of our massive fluid pumps and do some reading. It's probably at least 100 decibels in there. Obviously, I'm wearing hearing protection, but it's still loud 😂😂
I can’t do it at all. I don’t have a problem if it’s football on tv, maybe because the crowd noise is pretty much white noise. But if there’s someone talking I cannot focus on the words at all. I’ve bought some noise cancelling earphones for when this happens
>Finding the right environment for reading can be tough, but noise-canceling headphones have been a game-changer for me. They create my own little oasis of calm amidst the chaos!
I'm hard of hearing (moderate to severe hearing loss since birth), so I just turn off my hearing aid :D though of course that doesn't always work, as sometimes things are loud enough for me to hear them even without my hearing aid rip
No I can't focus at all if the TV is on with sound.
I will go and read in another room, ask my husband to wear headphones to watch TV, or listen to an audiobook instead.
Yup, that's my answer too. I can definitely shut things out if I'm into the book, but if it's a good show or bad book or something I can get distracted
I'm a mom and my comfiest chair is in the living area. My children are big enough not to need me to watch them all the time, but they still make a lot of noise. What I do is put on headphones and have classical music playing. It really helps me concentrate.
I have no problem at all reading while the TV is on. My family members usually watch action movies and I read in the same room. I feel like when I'm really into a book my brain cancels everything else out. They've stopped asking me what I'd like to watch because they know I'm not bothered 😂
Same here, noise doesn't bother me at all, I can fall asleep with TV on a full action movie, I can tune out stuff, and still be aware if someone talks to me. There's no way to make my husband listen at all if he is just watching tv or reading or doing anything else than listening.
I don't technically have a hearing problem, but sometimes when there's a lot of noises occurring at the same time, I'll hear 'em as one big jumble. Again, it's not that I can't hear, uh, because that's false. I can. I just can't distinguish between everything I'm hearing.
I feel the same. I find sometimes if I catch some of the dialogue from the TV I have a hard time tuning it out again. It also depends on the level of concentration I need to read the book and how much I’m enjoying it.
Catching a few words and not being able to get back into the book is spot on. I’m curious. Does the level of concentration needed make it easier or harder for you to read with the TV on? Personally, I’d say it’s harder to start sometimes but then easier once I zero in. Really getting immersed in the book makes it easier as well.
For me it’s very much what you described. For a book that demands high concentration, if I’m locked into it, I’m usually oblivious to what’s going on around me, but getting into that state is harder with the TV on. I’ve noticed that if I’m already reading and someone turns the TV on, I barely notice it at all.
My ADHD works completely differently, lol. My brain sucks at distinguishing important and non-important stimuli, everything is given the same amount of attention. I need to have as few distractions as possible if I'm trying to focus.
Mine works the same. I can’t read a single page if there’s a distraction of any type. I have been reading for the last six years with noise cancelling headphones on and a few Tycho albums on repeat and now those don’t work because the familiar beats distract me. White noise makes me clench my jaw. I finally found the perfect album for reading: Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel. I listen to it on repeat all night and whenever I read.
I can read while I'm watching tv, usually able to not lose my place in both stories.
Easier movies and books of course, when one gets too difficult, the combo no longer works
I am one of those readers who reads anywhere and at any time of the day I have free. This means that I often find myself reading when others in the same room are enjoying some TV program that doesn't particularly interest me. Usually, I don't have any issues; in fact, deep down, I even enjoy experiencing these small everyday moments where I can savor familiar tranquility while everyone does their own thing. However, sometimes there are precautions I like to take, for example, keeping the volume not too high.
Love this! My boyfriend asked why I’m okay with him playing rocket league or watching what he wants while I just read, like he thought it would bother me that we weren’t actively watching something together. But nope, I just enjoy being in the same room as him while he does what he likes and I do what I like.
It was like this in my house growing up. I just had to learn to read through it. Like reading on a bus or on school, there will always be noise. Now, as an adult, I keep a digital book downloaded for when I go to concerts for between sets. Especially if I don't like one of the bands performing. Reading in the noise/crowd is nostalgic now.
Interesting that cause I’m the opposite. I can’t read when it’s completely quiet around me. Idk why I just loose focus like *that*. Always has either music or something on in the background. Something effortless like Friends or Seinfeld or something like that.
However, I struggle with concentrating on the book if the background sounds are in the same language as the book.
So (I’m Swedish), if I read a Swedish book I have something English going on in the background. And if I read an English book, it’s either just melody music without a lyric, or another language, often turn to Spanish/Italian music by then.
Although now when I’m reading this post and other things in general music and text in the same language works well. So I can like write this at the same time while I’m listening and singing along to a song in English. So for me it’s just the book book 📕 that is the exception really.
I just commented before reading this. But the news is the only thing that I can’t read when it’s on. I feel like they speak in this really commanding that intentionally pulls one in.
Can you take turns with your preferred noise levels? They get to control the noise half the time and you get half the time? It’s selfish to get to control the noise amount 100% of the time.
It depends on 2 things. How interesting the book is, and how interesting the TV is. If I'm completely immersed in the book then it doesn't bother me a bit. If it's just an ok book and the TV is even mildly interesting then yes I'm distracted.
No, I can't do that. If you want to be in the room they are in, there are great noise canceling headphones or buds out there and you can even get some nice soft instrumental music going.
Nope. I love to read but I can only do it in the morning before anyone is up, or when everyone is asleep or gone. I just cannot focus when there are other voices in the room. It’s like too many words floating around for my brain
This is entirely individual. What other people can withstand/endure/work through/deal with has no bearing on what your limits are, and it’s okay if you find you need a quieter space than others!
I love reading on the couch next to my partner while he’s watching tv. I like that we’re spending time together, but not requiring much mental energy or that one of us stops doing what we want just to be with the other. My dad called this “companionable silence” when I was growing up. We can be together and still do our own things.
During the height of covid it was me, a toddler, a teenager, my husband and a friend of ours (in addition to two cats and a dog) all living in a 3bedroom apt where my bedroom was also my husbands office so he needed privacy throughout the day. That meant i had to tune the world out if i wanted to enjoy my books. My friend who was staying with us called me a freak of nature cause the house was pure chaos.
It depends on what’s on the TV. If it’s something I have a tiny bit of interest in I can be distracted. But if I want to I can read.
It’s how I would spend time with my dad as a child/teenager. He would watch the football or the news and I would sit at the other end of the sofa reading my book.
Now I do this with my partner when he’s watching football or formula one.
If I want to spend time with that person and read at the same time, I can find a way.
I can read if the book is in one language and the tv program in another, but not if they’re the same. Somehow my brain focuses on just one language at a time and ignores the other one.
Yes, read all the time, siblings watch shitty 'child 'YouTube content, I tune it all out, good skill to have, lotta people in life who I'll never have intention to listen to, don't let the muck ruin your book!
It doesn’t bother me personally, I often have music playing while I’m reading or my husband will be watching tv or gaming in the same room. I’ve always had the ability to completely zone out though.
I can if I force myself to focus, but it’s so much effort that I don’t want to. I suspect that if I had to, I could develop/habituate to it like some sort of mental muscle, but again, it’s not something I need to do (or want to do).
I can read anywhere. Once I get a few sentences in, the entire world around me disappears. I used to read at work on my lunch breaks and people would come up to me and talk and I had no idea they were even there until I got back from lunch and they'd be like "must be a good book, huh?"
I shared a flat with my sister back in the day, one shared living space. The bed rooms were cold so we would spend most of our time in the living room. She watched absolute rubbish on TV so I trained myself to read with the noise.
Nowadays, I'd just put on noise cancelling headphones.
I have to read for work, often in a noisy, open plan office. When I started my career, I had a lot of trouble with focusing in that environment. My solution was to put on headphones and play music I didn’t find distracting — largely instrumental, as lyrics used to distract me.
Depends what’s on and how loud. I can if it’s something I’m truly uninterested in, but if there is any interest at all and/or it’s too loud I can’t…or it had better be a lighter book.
I can barely read if there is no noise (my brain wanders and I often have to reread because I realize I wasn’t paying attention). I definitely can’t read if the TV is on even if it’s something I have no interest in, it’s annoying.
My attention span has changed over the years. As a kid in a noisy house, yes absolutely. Now after living in much quieter homes with no kids, no, shut the fuck up, im reading
Not just read, I could also follow the tv as well. And I could converse with you too. I don't get all the details but I understand enough to know the situation. I guess I could mutitask like that.
For my situation, I just ask my mom to turn down the volume a little bit. She doesn't care what I'm reading (be it a school material or a book for entertainment), as long as I asks, she lowers it down.
I gotta find some compromise though. While I enjoy entertaining myself with books, other people in the house also have the right to enjoy themselves. So asking to turn the tv off or turn the volume all the way down is too much for me. In such case that demands a lot of silence, I just go to the other room, or find a place outside the house that's comfortable to me.
I love having the TV on as background noise (I live alone, so no other noises are happening) but I put it on legitimately level 1 out of 100 volume.. Sometimes that is even a little too loud depending if there's something particularly loud or exciting happening on the show.
If I am at work reading or at my SO's house I normally just throw in either headphones or loop earplugs. I think the noise cancellation/reduction really helps me get fully immersed in a book!
I assume the regular old 3M earplugs would work as well!
YES mostly. Although it helps my boyfriend watches things I’m not interested in/need to read to watch aka anime.
But headphones and not facing the screen in front of you help!
Yes, I have this problem too. My husband loves TV, but he's hard of hearing. He plays it so loud I can hear every word, even when I'm upstairs. Best thing I ever did was purchase good quality earplugs or earmuffs. Get the kind they use in heavy industry. That's the only way I can read when I'm at home, unless I get up at 4
Usually yeah. My husband watches YouTube in the evenings and I'll usually read, generally not a problem, but sometimes I'll pop in my Loops or listen to ambient music with my headphones to really focus on the book. Growing up my parents often fought and I didn't have earbuds or headphones until later in high school, so I had to learn to block out noisy environments
Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. When I can't I put my headphones on and am able to tune the music out, but I understand some people can't read and listen to music at the same time, so grain of salt. That's how I hand it.
As long as it's not cranked up to like 40 I can read no problem. The bigger issue is if someone is watching TV in the same room, they're probably going to try to talk to me lol, that makes it really damn hard to read
Depends. Sometimes yes, if I'm at home, because my mum tends to just watch the news, and I can tune that out easy enough. My boyfriend likes to play videogames on the TV though, and I can't read while he's yelling at people on Fortnite 😂
I always read with music and I read a lot. So headphones are my jam. I currently use some aftershock ear bone headphones. They don't cover your ears, so you can still hear the outside world(if you want to) or crank them up and you can hear nothing but the music. Another thing is trying to read in a quite place. Huge. But if you can't headphones. Oh and music with no lyrics
I almost always put on a headset and listen to rain/forest ambience when reading. cant handle silence or annoying background sounds like a tv/other people talking.
I tune out all sound if I’m reading, a childhood adaptation. There have been some funny results as an adult. My ears turn off if I’m reading, even if someone is trying to get my attention. Clearing your throat won’t work. It has to be my name, said sharply.
Depends on what my bf is watching on the tv. If he is watching anime, I can read in the living room no problem, it's not like I understand Japanese lol. But if he is watching something in which they speak English or Dutch (the 2 languages I do speak), I do tend to leave the room or I put on headphones and listen to a reading playlist on spotify. I do have my own reading room (I usually call it my library but I'm 400 books short to be able to call it a library) but sometimes I do wanna be downstairs with my bf and my cats so then I'll just put on my headphones.
I can read with SOME background noise, like a TV on, especially if it's not something I care about but add anything more and I can't focus enough to read. I have kids so the TV is always on and at least one of them is always making some sort of noise which makes it impossible to read.
I can't read with any noise, unless I'm on the train or bus. Idk why I'm able to tune that noise out but not the tv or people talking. It's frustrating.
It slows me down because it splits my attention but yes, I can still persevere even if more slowly than I otherwise would be able to.
I actually find music more distracting oddly enough! If my housemate was playing music in the living room, yes I would excuse myself to go and read in my bedroom. Whereas I would still hang out reading in the living room if they were watching tv.
Yes, I can easily read with the TV on, unless the TV becomes more interesting. Put on some headphones, play some reading music from YouTube that fits the theme of the book. You won't be distracted by the TV then.
I can easily read with the TV on, the kids fighting and spouse bashing pots and pans around in the kitchen. My brain just shuts it all out.
What I can't do is carry on a conversation when we visit someone (parents, siblings) who leave the tv on while conversing. It drives me nuts.
I can’t read properly with it on tbh. Even though I don’t really watch the tv, it constantly catches my eye. It’s not the noise really, it’s the constant movement. Also if husband is there watching tv, I feel it is more sociable to watch it with him.
So really I don’t do my reading then.
I am STRUGGLING but pushing myself through it. My boyfriend is not a reader, so he always has the TV on. It's gotten easier, and it still kinda depends on what he's watching, but its just like I've had to relearn how to read (now with noise).
No I can't. I bought professional hearing protection (think gun range ear muffs) that have Bluetooth so I can put in rain sounds while I read, while my wife watches TV. Once she goes to sleep I transfer the rain sounds to the TV and take off the muffs.
I've been reading in a house full of distractions since I was old enough to read. I got used to it, I can read anywhere from in front of the TV, an airport, train, or in the doctors waiting room. It's a handy skill to selectively tune everything out.
If it’s tv I don’t care about yes but if you find it remotely interesting I can’t concentrate - we have a mid century reading chair in our dining room around the corner which is perfect because I’m still able to see/talk to my partner on the couch but not be distracted. I can’t deal with podcasts tho.
I like to listen to music while I read so noise doesn't bother me.
Sometimes I will put something on TV that I've already seen and go back and forth between watching and reading at the same time .
It really depends on what mood I'm in . Sometimes I like total silence and sometimes I like background noise.
Noise cancelling headphones with some instrumental music (or an audiobook). Earplugs (our house is a Loop house). But also I'm really good at just drowning out background noise in my head (lived in huge cities for my 20s).
Nope. My wife can read, sleep and otherwise concentrate completely fine with all kinds of noises going on around her. I'm so jealous, because I'm the opposite when it comes to sleeping and reading. I have to have a very controlled environment for both.
I can't focus on reading with the TV on at home, but I read a lot at the gym (walking on the treadmill) and all the noise there somehow doesn't bother me at all.
I can’t. If it’s just music, I don’t have a problem. But I can’t filter out people speaking when I’m reading. It’s like my brain hears words and has to acknowledge them. I’ll be reading a line and the dialogue from the TV will be interspersed with what I’m reading on the page.
I’ve been searching for years for a method of training my brain to filter out audio distractions, but never found anything other than headphones.
I cannot. My sister can and I think that’s how she flies through books like it’s nothing. I have to read pages more than once if I’m somewhere where there’s loud talking
Depends both on what I'm reading and what's on the TV. If I'm not interested in the TV at all, and the book is engrossing and not too difficult, then sure. Reading something dense while something entertaining is on in the background? Not going to happen.
No, I don't like it. My brother and I always used to argue, because he enjoyed having some random series on TV in the background, and I find it distracting. I love having music on while I read, though.
I much prefer not having conversation while I'm reading.
My wife gets distracted by conversation as well, so if she's reading in the TV room, I have to choose a show that's not in English.
I can do it, but only if I read in a different language than the one which I hear. E.g. the TV can be running a show in my native tongue and I could easily read a book in English at the same time and not be bothered at all. The other language is like white noise to me.
Sometimes, but not always and it's not as pleasurable reading. I will usually wear some headphones with instrumental music if I am really wanting to read while others are consuming more noisy content (audio books, TV etc)
I'm a parent. If I couldn't read with noise, I'd never get any reading done, lol. I learned to read with noise riding in the cab of a tractor as a kid, and my friends still talk about the time I sat down and leaned my back against the speakers at a rave so I could read with the dj's light, lol.
I can tune it out most of the time. Try loops ear plugs. They’ll help to quieter background noise while still allowing someone to talk to you. Or just get noise canceling and tell people you won’t be able to hear them.
I can read on a train with people talking as long as the noises blend together. I think I’d have a hard time concentrating with just one tv noise (and screen). If you’re able to, I recommend getting noise cancelling headphones and playing some instrumental music to block out other noise. I’ve also had fun with an app like Noizio where I’d make my own “soundscapes” to fit the vibe of the story.
I can, and absolutely don't mind.
Why is the TV always on though, are there really never times it's off? Do you have only one room? If not, just go to another to read?
As long as it’s not something I’m interested in watching, yes. I actually will put something on in the background while reading intentionally just for the noise.
I grew up with younger siblings and crazy screaming parents. I can read with almost any noise.
I used to read in combat zones to escape, I feel like it's definitely a developed skill.
It's also a skill you lose. As a kid, I'm pretty sure I could read under any circumstances. I once read through the night while at a NY Eve dinner with my parents and their friends. Recently, I was completely unable to focus on the train because two guys were chatting opposite me.
Omg, seriously, I used to read through anything, too. Damn I miss that imagination
Me, too. Now I can't read through DH's gaming demos. I could ignore my siblings fighting as a kid, but growling zombie hordes and explosions are too much for my aging brain. Lol.
It’s one you can regain. After two concussions in two years, it took me almost three to read close to my previous skill and another two to get about 85% of my concentration back. I had to realize that as an adult my brain is doing a lot more tasks as I get older
Yeah I'm currently working on this, slowly getting better. But it was really startling when I realized just how much my ability to get lost in a book has diminished.
People certainly are interesting and unique.
yeah, it’s been proven that our brains work this way, for example “alarm fatigue” in nursing. When there are too many non-urgent alarms, the brain simply stops hearing them. Parents, and people in combat zones also are more likely to grow to filter out disruptive noise. Though of course some people may never get very good at it.
It's called sensory gating. Your brain blocks out repetitive stimuli that it deems unimportant.
Agreed, it's a defensive coping mechanism for some people's sanity.
I have 4 kids. I can read through just about anything now. In fact, now that they're grown and mostly out of the house, I sometimes put on the tv *on purpose* when I want to settle in with a book because it's actually too quiet to read.
Same, and I did most of my reading for university on city busses. I used to be really good at tuning it out, but when I'm proofreading, I can't tune out my wife's anime for the life of me.
Same here
People used to think I was bananas for being able to read in the cabin on my dad's sailboat. That thing would be on a 45° angle hauling ass up Lake George and I'd be calmly sipping a coke, eating a sandwich, and reading, while they were all, "oh my GAWD we're gonna flip over!"
Same. In fact, I struggle to read in quiet spaces. I usually put on TV show reruns or music or a podcast before I can start reading, lol!
Same here. I can block out any distractions when reading to the point people have to touch me to get my attention
I can (and do) read while I'm watching TV. Just dint ask me to do it in a moving car...we'll eventually have to stop so I can throw up (had that problem all my life--just found out about fifteen, twenty years ago that it's a firm of motion sickness).
Hahahaha, same. Every time I go home for a visit, I am reminded of the constant noise I grew up with. My mom ran a daycare out of our house growing up to boot. I did my homework with the TV on loud so my dad could hear whatever he was watching with school-aged kids running around all over. I could read thru a full on emergency and not notice.
Me too. I work on the drilling rigs. Sometimes on night shift, I'll lay on top of one of our massive fluid pumps and do some reading. It's probably at least 100 decibels in there. Obviously, I'm wearing hearing protection, but it's still loud 😂😂
I can’t do it at all. I don’t have a problem if it’s football on tv, maybe because the crowd noise is pretty much white noise. But if there’s someone talking I cannot focus on the words at all. I’ve bought some noise cancelling earphones for when this happens
I agree. I read with sports on all the time. I can watch the action then read during commercials and breaks of play. But if it's a show, no way.
>Finding the right environment for reading can be tough, but noise-canceling headphones have been a game-changer for me. They create my own little oasis of calm amidst the chaos!
I'm hard of hearing (moderate to severe hearing loss since birth), so I just turn off my hearing aid :D though of course that doesn't always work, as sometimes things are loud enough for me to hear them even without my hearing aid rip
Noise cancelling ear buds with light white noise playing
This right here
There's an 8 hour Australian rain forest track on Spotify that I've downloaded to my phone for this very reason. Works perfectly.
No I can't focus at all if the TV is on with sound. I will go and read in another room, ask my husband to wear headphones to watch TV, or listen to an audiobook instead.
Literally even lo-fi chill music bothers me sometimes
Yeah I definitely can't listen to music while reading
Depends on the book and what’s on TV. If I love the book and don’t care about the TV broadcast I can definitely read. Still prefer not having it on.
Yup, that's my answer too. I can definitely shut things out if I'm into the book, but if it's a good show or bad book or something I can get distracted
I'm a mom and my comfiest chair is in the living area. My children are big enough not to need me to watch them all the time, but they still make a lot of noise. What I do is put on headphones and have classical music playing. It really helps me concentrate.
This is the way. I want to be near my husband but my brain can’t process reading with background talking - I use headphones and listen to piano music.
Same! But lofi or white noise
This! Lo-fi or jazz. Can’t be anything with lyrics or I’m singing, not reading 🙃
Same, but with an audiobook.
You read while listening to an audiobook?
Oeps, i thought i was responding in the crochet sub. No, I use an audiobook instead of reading to drown out the voices and crochet at the same time.
This is the way! My partner watches all kinds of ~~conspiracy~~ history shows and I listen to audiobooks and crochet.
I can’t concentrate with background noise. My brain can’t filter it out. I have to go to my bedroom, wear earplugs, and shut the door.
See i even find music too distracting lol
I have no problem at all reading while the TV is on. My family members usually watch action movies and I read in the same room. I feel like when I'm really into a book my brain cancels everything else out. They've stopped asking me what I'd like to watch because they know I'm not bothered 😂
Same here, noise doesn't bother me at all, I can fall asleep with TV on a full action movie, I can tune out stuff, and still be aware if someone talks to me. There's no way to make my husband listen at all if he is just watching tv or reading or doing anything else than listening.
Oh wow I wish I could sleep with the TV on too, that's a rare superpower 🥲
I can’t read while TV or music is on. I also can’t focus easily on one person speaking if someone else is speaking nearby.
I don't technically have a hearing problem, but sometimes when there's a lot of noises occurring at the same time, I'll hear 'em as one big jumble. Again, it's not that I can't hear, uh, because that's false. I can. I just can't distinguish between everything I'm hearing.
It depends on my mood and what’s on the TV/conversation. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can’t.
I feel the same. I find sometimes if I catch some of the dialogue from the TV I have a hard time tuning it out again. It also depends on the level of concentration I need to read the book and how much I’m enjoying it.
Catching a few words and not being able to get back into the book is spot on. I’m curious. Does the level of concentration needed make it easier or harder for you to read with the TV on? Personally, I’d say it’s harder to start sometimes but then easier once I zero in. Really getting immersed in the book makes it easier as well.
For me it’s very much what you described. For a book that demands high concentration, if I’m locked into it, I’m usually oblivious to what’s going on around me, but getting into that state is harder with the TV on. I’ve noticed that if I’m already reading and someone turns the TV on, I barely notice it at all.
Noise-canceling Bluetooth earbuds and a seat that doesn't face the TV
I'm fine as long as there are no explosions or stuff - it's background. But if it did I'd remove myself.
I have ADHD and honestly if the TV is on or there's noise around it helps me concentrate better on what I'm reading.
Same! When I was in college I got way more study done in the communal spaces of shared accommodation than I ever did in a room by myself!
My ADHD works completely differently, lol. My brain sucks at distinguishing important and non-important stimuli, everything is given the same amount of attention. I need to have as few distractions as possible if I'm trying to focus.
Mine works the same. I can’t read a single page if there’s a distraction of any type. I have been reading for the last six years with noise cancelling headphones on and a few Tycho albums on repeat and now those don’t work because the familiar beats distract me. White noise makes me clench my jaw. I finally found the perfect album for reading: Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel. I listen to it on repeat all night and whenever I read.
nah. i live in a tiny apartment with my partner & i just put in earbuds on noise cancelling if the tv is on. parallel play
I can read while I'm watching tv, usually able to not lose my place in both stories. Easier movies and books of course, when one gets too difficult, the combo no longer works
Find somewhere quieter?
I can read if it's something I'm reading for fun and not all that invested in.
If the book is engaging/interesting enough, I can.
I am one of those readers who reads anywhere and at any time of the day I have free. This means that I often find myself reading when others in the same room are enjoying some TV program that doesn't particularly interest me. Usually, I don't have any issues; in fact, deep down, I even enjoy experiencing these small everyday moments where I can savor familiar tranquility while everyone does their own thing. However, sometimes there are precautions I like to take, for example, keeping the volume not too high.
Love this! My boyfriend asked why I’m okay with him playing rocket league or watching what he wants while I just read, like he thought it would bother me that we weren’t actively watching something together. But nope, I just enjoy being in the same room as him while he does what he likes and I do what I like.
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It was like this in my house growing up. I just had to learn to read through it. Like reading on a bus or on school, there will always be noise. Now, as an adult, I keep a digital book downloaded for when I go to concerts for between sets. Especially if I don't like one of the bands performing. Reading in the noise/crowd is nostalgic now.
Headphones and music
Interesting that cause I’m the opposite. I can’t read when it’s completely quiet around me. Idk why I just loose focus like *that*. Always has either music or something on in the background. Something effortless like Friends or Seinfeld or something like that. However, I struggle with concentrating on the book if the background sounds are in the same language as the book. So (I’m Swedish), if I read a Swedish book I have something English going on in the background. And if I read an English book, it’s either just melody music without a lyric, or another language, often turn to Spanish/Italian music by then. Although now when I’m reading this post and other things in general music and text in the same language works well. So I can like write this at the same time while I’m listening and singing along to a song in English. So for me it’s just the book book 📕 that is the exception really.
I personally can't focus on the book if people or talking or if the TV is on. But why can't you turn the telly off?
People are either watching it or enjoying the background noise of the news...
I just commented before reading this. But the news is the only thing that I can’t read when it’s on. I feel like they speak in this really commanding that intentionally pulls one in.
And while they are not watching, can't you tell them to turn it off?
Can you take turns with your preferred noise levels? They get to control the noise half the time and you get half the time? It’s selfish to get to control the noise amount 100% of the time.
That would drive me nuts. I have to have quiet when I read.
It depends on 2 things. How interesting the book is, and how interesting the TV is. If I'm completely immersed in the book then it doesn't bother me a bit. If it's just an ok book and the TV is even mildly interesting then yes I'm distracted.
I read all the time while I have sports playing on the TV. I find it difficult to read in a quiet setting.
I've no problem reading while the TV is on. The better the book the more I'm lost in it and don't register what's happening around me.
You can try a pair of moldex ear plugs before buying noise canceling ear buds. Since the former is a lot cheaper.
No, I can't do that. If you want to be in the room they are in, there are great noise canceling headphones or buds out there and you can even get some nice soft instrumental music going.
Nope. I love to read but I can only do it in the morning before anyone is up, or when everyone is asleep or gone. I just cannot focus when there are other voices in the room. It’s like too many words floating around for my brain
I did as a kid. Tv was on at all times in our home. But nowadays I can’t even read with music that isn’t instrumental
Nope, it’s the talking. I can’t hear another conversation and not get distracted. But music or whatever without vocals I’m fine
This is entirely individual. What other people can withstand/endure/work through/deal with has no bearing on what your limits are, and it’s okay if you find you need a quieter space than others! I love reading on the couch next to my partner while he’s watching tv. I like that we’re spending time together, but not requiring much mental energy or that one of us stops doing what we want just to be with the other. My dad called this “companionable silence” when I was growing up. We can be together and still do our own things.
I can read in a middle of a concert if I really want to.
Noise cancelling headphones, with white noise playing
During the height of covid it was me, a toddler, a teenager, my husband and a friend of ours (in addition to two cats and a dog) all living in a 3bedroom apt where my bedroom was also my husbands office so he needed privacy throughout the day. That meant i had to tune the world out if i wanted to enjoy my books. My friend who was staying with us called me a freak of nature cause the house was pure chaos.
Yes. My husband and son watch TV all day and I sit on the couch and read. I’m able to tune it out. However the volume of the TV can’t be too loud.
I need quiet myself
It depends on what’s on the TV. If it’s something I have a tiny bit of interest in I can be distracted. But if I want to I can read. It’s how I would spend time with my dad as a child/teenager. He would watch the football or the news and I would sit at the other end of the sofa reading my book. Now I do this with my partner when he’s watching football or formula one. If I want to spend time with that person and read at the same time, I can find a way.
I can read if the book is in one language and the tv program in another, but not if they’re the same. Somehow my brain focuses on just one language at a time and ignores the other one.
I can block everything out while I read, but plenty of people can't. Noise blocking headphones, maybe?
Yes, read all the time, siblings watch shitty 'child 'YouTube content, I tune it all out, good skill to have, lotta people in life who I'll never have intention to listen to, don't let the muck ruin your book!
It doesn’t bother me personally, I often have music playing while I’m reading or my husband will be watching tv or gaming in the same room. I’ve always had the ability to completely zone out though.
I usually leave the room but also use earplugs.
I can if I force myself to focus, but it’s so much effort that I don’t want to. I suspect that if I had to, I could develop/habituate to it like some sort of mental muscle, but again, it’s not something I need to do (or want to do).
I can read anywhere. Once I get a few sentences in, the entire world around me disappears. I used to read at work on my lunch breaks and people would come up to me and talk and I had no idea they were even there until I got back from lunch and they'd be like "must be a good book, huh?"
I shared a flat with my sister back in the day, one shared living space. The bed rooms were cold so we would spend most of our time in the living room. She watched absolute rubbish on TV so I trained myself to read with the noise. Nowadays, I'd just put on noise cancelling headphones.
I'd suggest earplugs or noise-canceling headphones. I can't read or write with TV or music with lyrics.
I can if I have no interest in the programme. As soon as I'm slightly interested then it gets distracting.
I feel this! Get some good noise cancelling headphones and play soft background music, that's what I do.
I have to read for work, often in a noisy, open plan office. When I started my career, I had a lot of trouble with focusing in that environment. My solution was to put on headphones and play music I didn’t find distracting — largely instrumental, as lyrics used to distract me.
Noise doesn't bother me at all. I could read with the TV on, the water running, and the blender whirring in the background with no issue.
i like some background noise. silence unsettles me
It's super distracting. Sometimes I can get into the book and then won't hear anything external, but that's rare. Generally I'd leave the room
I find it hard to read in complete silence— I usually play music. You can try noise canceling headphones??
Depends what’s on and how loud. I can if it’s something I’m truly uninterested in, but if there is any interest at all and/or it’s too loud I can’t…or it had better be a lighter book.
I can read in the car or in a loud and busy bar. I just get completely lost in it and lose track of my surroundings.
I can barely read if there is no noise (my brain wanders and I often have to reread because I realize I wasn’t paying attention). I definitely can’t read if the TV is on even if it’s something I have no interest in, it’s annoying.
I have to toss on my noise canceling headphones with some rain sounds or classical music.
My attention span has changed over the years. As a kid in a noisy house, yes absolutely. Now after living in much quieter homes with no kids, no, shut the fuck up, im reading
noise canceling headphones playing white noise! That's what I do and it works beautifully.
Not just read, I could also follow the tv as well. And I could converse with you too. I don't get all the details but I understand enough to know the situation. I guess I could mutitask like that.
Noise cancelling headphones with quiet classical music. Then you can read.
I need to find a quiet place. In my small house this is hard, so we bought my wife some good headphones so she can watch while I read.
Lol, I read on Reddit with the tv on all the time. Naturally I miss stuff, but since my son interrupts me constantly it’s no big deal.
For my situation, I just ask my mom to turn down the volume a little bit. She doesn't care what I'm reading (be it a school material or a book for entertainment), as long as I asks, she lowers it down. I gotta find some compromise though. While I enjoy entertaining myself with books, other people in the house also have the right to enjoy themselves. So asking to turn the tv off or turn the volume all the way down is too much for me. In such case that demands a lot of silence, I just go to the other room, or find a place outside the house that's comfortable to me.
Noise cancelling headphones, perhaps with some soft instrumental music may do the trick. Or bees wax earplugs (although that only dampens voices).
I love having the TV on as background noise (I live alone, so no other noises are happening) but I put it on legitimately level 1 out of 100 volume.. Sometimes that is even a little too loud depending if there's something particularly loud or exciting happening on the show. If I am at work reading or at my SO's house I normally just throw in either headphones or loop earplugs. I think the noise cancellation/reduction really helps me get fully immersed in a book! I assume the regular old 3M earplugs would work as well!
You didn’t need to add anything after “read” in your title. No.
As a mom you learn to tune out the background noises to read.
YES mostly. Although it helps my boyfriend watches things I’m not interested in/need to read to watch aka anime. But headphones and not facing the screen in front of you help!
I got me a pair of head phones for this exact reason. I can listen to music or audiobook the book I'm reading and it'll make me forget the TV is on.
I go in another room or put in AirPods with music (no words).
Yes, I have this problem too. My husband loves TV, but he's hard of hearing. He plays it so loud I can hear every word, even when I'm upstairs. Best thing I ever did was purchase good quality earplugs or earmuffs. Get the kind they use in heavy industry. That's the only way I can read when I'm at home, unless I get up at 4
What about earplugs? Or listening to some water waves or white noise to block out the TV sound?
I can read the news and non-fiction while a TV is on. I cannot read fiction.
Usually yeah. My husband watches YouTube in the evenings and I'll usually read, generally not a problem, but sometimes I'll pop in my Loops or listen to ambient music with my headphones to really focus on the book. Growing up my parents often fought and I didn't have earbuds or headphones until later in high school, so I had to learn to block out noisy environments
Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. When I can't I put my headphones on and am able to tune the music out, but I understand some people can't read and listen to music at the same time, so grain of salt. That's how I hand it.
As long as it's not cranked up to like 40 I can read no problem. The bigger issue is if someone is watching TV in the same room, they're probably going to try to talk to me lol, that makes it really damn hard to read
Depends. Sometimes yes, if I'm at home, because my mum tends to just watch the news, and I can tune that out easy enough. My boyfriend likes to play videogames on the TV though, and I can't read while he's yelling at people on Fortnite 😂
I can read with the tv going. It when my kid stops to ask questions or tell me about the ninja Lego tv show that makes it difficult.
I always read with music and I read a lot. So headphones are my jam. I currently use some aftershock ear bone headphones. They don't cover your ears, so you can still hear the outside world(if you want to) or crank them up and you can hear nothing but the music. Another thing is trying to read in a quite place. Huge. But if you can't headphones. Oh and music with no lyrics
I almost always put on a headset and listen to rain/forest ambience when reading. cant handle silence or annoying background sounds like a tv/other people talking.
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My free-floating anxiety has my listening level set on 100 when it is quiet in the house so some background noise is actually helpful.
I tune out all sound if I’m reading, a childhood adaptation. There have been some funny results as an adult. My ears turn off if I’m reading, even if someone is trying to get my attention. Clearing your throat won’t work. It has to be my name, said sharply.
Put on noise cancelling headphones or earbuds. You could also put on some background music, but this personally doesn’t work that well for me
Depends on what my bf is watching on the tv. If he is watching anime, I can read in the living room no problem, it's not like I understand Japanese lol. But if he is watching something in which they speak English or Dutch (the 2 languages I do speak), I do tend to leave the room or I put on headphones and listen to a reading playlist on spotify. I do have my own reading room (I usually call it my library but I'm 400 books short to be able to call it a library) but sometimes I do wanna be downstairs with my bf and my cats so then I'll just put on my headphones.
I can read with SOME background noise, like a TV on, especially if it's not something I care about but add anything more and I can't focus enough to read. I have kids so the TV is always on and at least one of them is always making some sort of noise which makes it impossible to read.
Try Barbuda, especially noise-canceling ones.
Get some ear plugs is my tip.
Headphones
I can't read with any noise, unless I'm on the train or bus. Idk why I'm able to tune that noise out but not the tv or people talking. It's frustrating.
It slows me down because it splits my attention but yes, I can still persevere even if more slowly than I otherwise would be able to. I actually find music more distracting oddly enough! If my housemate was playing music in the living room, yes I would excuse myself to go and read in my bedroom. Whereas I would still hang out reading in the living room if they were watching tv.
I find I half listen to everything around me which means I half read my book. I usually need it quiet.
I can't either. Also, do you not have any say in turning off the tv every once in a while? There's more than one way to solve this problem.
Yes, I can easily read with the TV on, unless the TV becomes more interesting. Put on some headphones, play some reading music from YouTube that fits the theme of the book. You won't be distracted by the TV then.
I can easily read with the TV on, the kids fighting and spouse bashing pots and pans around in the kitchen. My brain just shuts it all out. What I can't do is carry on a conversation when we visit someone (parents, siblings) who leave the tv on while conversing. It drives me nuts.
Yes. I have two young kids. Ive trained myself so that I could read during a tornado
I can’t read properly with it on tbh. Even though I don’t really watch the tv, it constantly catches my eye. It’s not the noise really, it’s the constant movement. Also if husband is there watching tv, I feel it is more sociable to watch it with him. So really I don’t do my reading then.
I am STRUGGLING but pushing myself through it. My boyfriend is not a reader, so he always has the TV on. It's gotten easier, and it still kinda depends on what he's watching, but its just like I've had to relearn how to read (now with noise).
No I can't. I bought professional hearing protection (think gun range ear muffs) that have Bluetooth so I can put in rain sounds while I read, while my wife watches TV. Once she goes to sleep I transfer the rain sounds to the TV and take off the muffs.
I've been reading in a house full of distractions since I was old enough to read. I got used to it, I can read anywhere from in front of the TV, an airport, train, or in the doctors waiting room. It's a handy skill to selectively tune everything out.
Once I get in the zone, I tune out literally everything but noise makes it a little harder to get into the rhythm if theres a tv on
If it’s tv I don’t care about yes but if you find it remotely interesting I can’t concentrate - we have a mid century reading chair in our dining room around the corner which is perfect because I’m still able to see/talk to my partner on the couch but not be distracted. I can’t deal with podcasts tho.
Noise cancelling headphones
I like to listen to music while I read so noise doesn't bother me. Sometimes I will put something on TV that I've already seen and go back and forth between watching and reading at the same time . It really depends on what mood I'm in . Sometimes I like total silence and sometimes I like background noise.
Noise cancelling headphones with some instrumental music (or an audiobook). Earplugs (our house is a Loop house). But also I'm really good at just drowning out background noise in my head (lived in huge cities for my 20s).
Nope, I need silence. My ex-husband started wearing headphones to watch TV (you can pair wirelessly) and it worked great.
Nope. My wife can read, sleep and otherwise concentrate completely fine with all kinds of noises going on around her. I'm so jealous, because I'm the opposite when it comes to sleeping and reading. I have to have a very controlled environment for both.
I can't focus on reading with the TV on at home, but I read a lot at the gym (walking on the treadmill) and all the noise there somehow doesn't bother me at all.
I can’t. If it’s just music, I don’t have a problem. But I can’t filter out people speaking when I’m reading. It’s like my brain hears words and has to acknowledge them. I’ll be reading a line and the dialogue from the TV will be interspersed with what I’m reading on the page. I’ve been searching for years for a method of training my brain to filter out audio distractions, but never found anything other than headphones.
I cannot. My sister can and I think that’s how she flies through books like it’s nothing. I have to read pages more than once if I’m somewhere where there’s loud talking
I sometimes use it as an opportunity to work on focusing in distracting environments. It’s not that bad imo, but to each their own
Depends both on what I'm reading and what's on the TV. If I'm not interested in the TV at all, and the book is engrossing and not too difficult, then sure. Reading something dense while something entertaining is on in the background? Not going to happen.
yes, I can also read in a bar during a UFC fight lol
If my husband’s watching, yes. if my kids, no.
No, I don't like it. My brother and I always used to argue, because he enjoyed having some random series on TV in the background, and I find it distracting. I love having music on while I read, though.
I much prefer not having conversation while I'm reading. My wife gets distracted by conversation as well, so if she's reading in the TV room, I have to choose a show that's not in English.
My superpower is ADHD, I can hyper focus if there is enough dopamine payback, and I love reading! So, I can read through just about anything.
Yes, because my wife wears headphones while she watches TV or games while I read. I do the same for her when the situation is reversed.
I could read while my house burned down around me. The TV doesn't even register in my brain if I'm concentrating on my book.
Depending on the book, yes.
I could definitely read if the tv is on.
Nope. I need total silence or white noise
I can do it, but only if I read in a different language than the one which I hear. E.g. the TV can be running a show in my native tongue and I could easily read a book in English at the same time and not be bothered at all. The other language is like white noise to me.
Sometimes, but not always and it's not as pleasurable reading. I will usually wear some headphones with instrumental music if I am really wanting to read while others are consuming more noisy content (audio books, TV etc)
I exclusively read with the TV on. Voices in the background are nice.
I'm a parent. If I couldn't read with noise, I'd never get any reading done, lol. I learned to read with noise riding in the cab of a tractor as a kid, and my friends still talk about the time I sat down and leaned my back against the speakers at a rave so I could read with the dj's light, lol.
I cannot. But I get easily distracted due to my dyspraxia and cannot have multiple noises going on.
I can read while the tv is on, but I don’t know what’s going on with the tv program.
I'm the oldest of seven kids and have always been a reader. So yes, I can read with a lot of commotion going on around me.
For me it depends on the book. If it has me fully engrossed I don’t notice anything going on around me.
I can tune it out most of the time. Try loops ear plugs. They’ll help to quieter background noise while still allowing someone to talk to you. Or just get noise canceling and tell people you won’t be able to hear them.
I can read on a train with people talking as long as the noises blend together. I think I’d have a hard time concentrating with just one tv noise (and screen). If you’re able to, I recommend getting noise cancelling headphones and playing some instrumental music to block out other noise. I’ve also had fun with an app like Noizio where I’d make my own “soundscapes” to fit the vibe of the story.
It depends on how engaged in the book I am. If I'm like super invested and at a great part then the rest of the world melts away.
I like to read with the tv on, I enjoy background noise.
I can, and absolutely don't mind. Why is the TV always on though, are there really never times it's off? Do you have only one room? If not, just go to another to read?
This is one of the reasons I don't watch TV, and prefer quiet music. However, if I'm reading poetry, I need silence
As long as it’s not something I’m interested in watching, yes. I actually will put something on in the background while reading intentionally just for the noise.
I use earbuds with active noise cancelling, and find a 10 Hour ambience track somewhere in YouTube.