I don’t get that startle problem as much, now that I am retired and don’t get engrossed in an engineering problem or computer spreadsheet.
Back when I was working, if I was focused on something, the rest of the environs went away, and so if someone came up behind me, I would startle when they spoke to me.
It wasn’t so bad if they came to my side or in front (we had those low wall offices) so I saw them coming first, but with the old high wall offices, the doorway was to my back and I wasn’t able to get a visual alert.
Mirrors didn’t help though.
SLIDE:
Back when I went to college, we lived in a small 10 by 45 ft. trailer. With Hubby, Tv, and a Toddler - the only way to study was to basically block it out - which I became very good at doing.
Later, and still, if I’m really studying something, I am so focused that I don’t hear people speaking to me. Which leads them to repeat louder or get indignant that I am ignoring them.
I just shrug and say sorry I was so wrapped up in what I was doing that I didn’t hear you. And hubby has such a light step, that he startles me all the time now when that voice from an empty room booms out (except it ain’t really empty). LOL