If I can hear my own inner-monologue then I can concentrate. Similarly, if somebody else's voice is talking over the voice in my head, then I'm screwed. I don'

If I can hear my own inner-monologue then I can concentrate. Similarly, if somebody else's voice is talking over the voice in my head, then I'm screwed. I don't mind traffic, or music, or white-noise or even crowds. But a single solitary voice (like a person at a cafe talking on the phone 10 feet away) can completely upend my concentration. Earbuds help, but there's something strange and pervasive about the human voice. I'd have to have my earbuds at deafening levels to drown out a voice nearby.