I have always been unable to concentrate if there is external sound. While in college, I couldn't go to sleep if someone down the hall was playing a radio, etc. I would NEVER be able to read or study if there was external noise. Much later, I adopted the habit of placing a heavy feather pillow over my head, which I affectionately named my "head pillow," to block out all sounds. One of the things I took with me after my divorce was the head pillow, but it got so I could hear sounds from it, like vermin crawling in it...this was not imaginary...the pillow was very, very old and probably polluted, so I got rid of it. Anyway, does anyone else have the problem of sleeping/studying with sounds interrupting? I miss my "head pillow," and am thinking how I can replace it!