Being overly sensitive to sound could have been the key to the creativity of geniuses like Charles Darwin ( pictured ) , scientists believe . We all find noise annoying – but if it really bothers you it could be because you 're a genius . Being overly sensitive to sound could have been the key to the creativity of geniuses like Charles Darwin and Franz Kafka – who both complained of their difficulty of filtering out noise – research has revealed . Psychologists now believe that an inability to shut out irrelevant sensory information could be strongly linked to creativity . French writer Marcel Proust was famous for wearing earplugs and lining his bedroom with cork to block out the outside sound while he worked . And Kafka once said ' I need solitude for my writing ; not `` like a hermit '' - that would n't be enough - but like a dead man . ' Darwin and write Anton Chekhov were also known to have complained about how they found it difficult to filter out noise . Scientists at Northwestern University , Illinois , tested 100 people on their ability to find original solutions to problems and found strong links between an inability to shut out irrelevant audio stimuli , dubbed 'leaky ' sensory gating , and creativity . In tests 100 people were provided solutions to scenarios , with the challenge of coming up with as many original answers as possible . This was designed to measure their level of 'real world creative achievement ' . The findings , published in the journal Neuropsychologia , suggest those with the affliction might find it easier to think creatively as they can focus on a wide range of things simultaneously . Darya Zabelina , a PhD psychology student at Northwestern University in Illinois said : 'If funnelled in the right direction , these sensitivities can make life more rich and meaningful , giving experiences more subtlety . '
Inability to shut out irrelevant sounds could be linked to creativity . Being overly sensitive to sounds could be key to genius , scientists say . Darwin among great minds who complained about too much noise .