The same thing can happen to me, except when I try to listen to whatever it is I'm hypothetically ignoring, nothing happens. It's like I get the dial tone. Maybe I picked up the phone thinking it was ringing, when it was actually not? A false alarm is not inconceivable. I find the discomfort that music helps me avoid is something that has always been there, acknowledged or not. Turning the music off has not helped me fight it. Perhaps it is simply the negativity that we all experience? In that case, then it's disappearance might be a bad thing.
Listening to the jukebox doesn't seem to get me anywhere, but pulling the plug doesn't seem to either, except when I need the extra focus for the task at hand. So I haven't worried about it much.
In any case, it is best to face the discomfort, if a situation occurs where the alternative would be inconsiderate.
It occurs to me now that I have accepted diversion as a defense mechanism for the discomfort because I saw no point in facing it, when doing this has never seemed to bring results. Maybe this is only my negative introject. It is certainly not in keeping with the "last hour of life" methodology. On the other hand, constant mental exertion takes energy, and energy has to be economized.
Hmmm...
