Have you ever tried talking to someone when they’re busy texting? And they don’t hear a word you’re saying? It’s probably happened to you a few times today.

A new study from University College London found it’s NOT that your friends and family members are ignoring you because they’re terrible, and you’re annoying. It’s because when people text, they actually go temporarily deaf.

The researchers found that when we focus on something visual like texting or playing a video game, our brains temporarily tune out normal sounds.

So you’d hear something unusual, like a siren, but you don’t hear normal stuff, like people talking. The more you’re concentrating on your phone, the less other stuff you can hear.

The researchers say it’s because our hearing and vision basically split the same resources in the brain — so when we’re focused on one, it’s tough to use the other.