Sounds like everyone should try to avoid noising environments - especially when you’re trying to concentrate or read, etc.
Conclusion:
We conclude that noise has adverse effects on the verbal and working memory domains in schizophrenia patients and healthy participants. This may be particularly problematic for patients as it worsens their pre-existing cognitive deficits.
Source:
like listening to music?
Now that is a very good question. I wonder…
I guess the best thing would be to try both. Probably - if you’re trying to read, listening to music isn’t going to help.
depends what you are listening to, i think certain sounds can focus the mind like flowing or gushing water and things like that even birdsong, maybe i am wrong
Have you tried it? Try reading in quiet vs. reading with the sounds you like - and see which approach results in better memory / retention of the information you’ve read. Try to get something with a short comprehension test after it - so its a fair test.
i believe it and i have tried it, i remember all those times when i was focused on something or writing something down and something causes me to lose my attention and sometimes i cant even remember what i wanted to write, doesnt even have to be a sound, can be a sight as well, its all to do with attention and focus i think,
i think its harder for sz people to focus on one thing when it is noisy like at a party or something and your trying to listen to someone but the music is too loud or distracting.
I find those things really help me focus when they’re drowning out other environmental noise. I’m not sure they help over pure silence, but when I was at work and everything around me was distracting, sounds like that did help.
Absolute silence has a way of making me hyper-sensitive to all the noise in my environment- be it natural or not.
If I like the music enough to be able to keep it in the background, it enhances my environment, but if I hate it, it’s all I focus on until I can get to the volume knob.
I like all music, just not all at the same volume.
It reminds me of the pain of listening to beginners’ band. Or any beginning music student. Ouch !!
Oh Gawd, I was in beginning band in Jr. high, I couldn’t stand to hear myself long enough to get any better.
I do much better with everything if there is white noise in the background, because it gets rid of (well covers up) random noise from all around me. If there is total silence then I hear myself (blood pressure in head, breathing, etc) which also bothers me.
I live near the airport and every five minutes a planes passes over my apartment, it’s driving me mad. This week of no airplanes has been a blessing. Luckily I’ll be moving somewhere this year, away from those airplanes!
I’m really sensitive to noise in general. Not just while trying to read or concentrate. I’m sensitive to all kinds of stim. Bright lights, colors, or loud noises. I hate walking into Walmart. It’s like a sensory trap.
@Minnii That sounds awful. I’m glad you’re moving. 
Thank you, yeah me too 
Lately I’ve been trying to go to concerts again and it was okay, the loud noises and the crowd didn’t upset me which was cool.
But had a weird moment, the sound turned off in one of the concerts for a brief moment and I thought it was just my perception, that I was hallucinating it or something, had to reality check immediately and it was a problem with the sound system. I still get jumpy but it’s more because I’m scared of what will happen than what is actually happening.
I’m actually going to three concerts this summer. They usually don’t bother me because I’m with my boyfriend. Smoking pot helps too. Just relaxes me. I wouldn’t recommend that though as it freaks out some with sz.
Yeah, my pot days are over. Been sober of drugs since Oct 10th 2014 and very proud of it
I couldn’t even go to the movies after my break, the sounds creeped me out. Slowly I’ve been getting the confidence to get back to normal which is cool.
Congrats on the sobriety!! Sorry I do remember your story now. Yeah pot is not for everyone.
The movies sometimes scare me. I start to focus on how big the screen is and it makes me panic. I’ve been doing better though. It’s still hard to leave the house sometimes.
Yeah, baby steps I’m making sure I don’t miss out on life just because I have this illness. And it’s been working really well for me, I’m out of stressful environments, I’m traveling right now, I’m doing therapy, fighting avolition, trying to get back on exercising (that’s the next step, get back to the swimming pool) but yeah, baby steps.