I don't cope well with interruptions, especially since I work from home and the person I live with is very ADHD.
I take some pre-emptive measures to limit the impact: me wearing headphones is a visual sign that I am focussing. I have Sony WH-1000XM3 which are a game-changer for me: I can enable the noise cancelling when I need quiet, have music when I need it, and my housemate can see I am focussing. "Headphones on" is a verbal phrase we both use that means "only urgent or important stuff, please". Next step up from that is ear defenders (3M Peltor in black and red), which is simply "leave me be". I can't do too much in the Peltors since my tinnitus kicks off…and it's a bit disconcerting listening to your own pulse with a background "EeEeeEeeeEEEEeee" for too long.
Edit: and if I'm "headphones on" this time of year, my office is quite dark. Housemate flashes the main light on and off once to indicate they want to talk non-urgently, and I will raise my first finger to respectfully acknowledge with "1 minute, please", get to a point where I've made enough notes to be able to carry on, then take my headphones off, and then have the conversation.
Some of this may come across as being a bit pompous, but it works for both of us equally well.
Edit #2: if you're young and out at live gigs, get ear plugs. Tinnitus is no fun _at all_.
Thanks a lot for the explanations and also for the technical details!
Implementing visual cues with people who interrupt you often seems very effective.
I take some pre-emptive measures to limit the impact: me wearing headphones is a visual sign that I am focussing. I have Sony WH-1000XM3 which are a game-changer for me: I can enable the noise cancelling when I need quiet, have music when I need it, and my housemate can see I am focussing. "Headphones on" is a verbal phrase we both use that means "only urgent or important stuff, please". Next step up from that is ear defenders (3M Peltor in black and red), which is simply "leave me be". I can't do too much in the Peltors since my tinnitus kicks off…and it's a bit disconcerting listening to your own pulse with a background "EeEeeEeeeEEEEeee" for too long.
Edit: and if I'm "headphones on" this time of year, my office is quite dark. Housemate flashes the main light on and off once to indicate they want to talk non-urgently, and I will raise my first finger to respectfully acknowledge with "1 minute, please", get to a point where I've made enough notes to be able to carry on, then take my headphones off, and then have the conversation.
Some of this may come across as being a bit pompous, but it works for both of us equally well.
Edit #2: if you're young and out at live gigs, get ear plugs. Tinnitus is no fun _at all_.