How to Listen to Music Without Getting Caught

How to hide earbuds at work

What do you do when you’re not allowed to listen to music? Get covert and listen to music in your room, at school, work, or church without anybody noticing or hearing you.

Listening to Music in Public

1. Choose between discreet and wireless earbuds. Use earbud headphones with a cable color that will mix in with your hair or clothing. White Apple earphones generally stand out more than darker ones. You may even acquire a wireless pair that can link to your phone or MP3 player over Bluetooth to remove the need for cords entirely.

2. Dress comfortably. Wear a blouse or sweater that has enough room to conceal the cable of your earphones. Place your phone or MP3 player in a big pocket of your jeans or sweatshirt, then thread your earphone cable from that pocket up the inside of the shirt or sweatshirt until the earpieces protrude from the neck.

• Put your sweatshirt’s hood up and/or wrap the earphone cables behind your ears to hide them.
• You may even make a few of tiny holes in your sweatshirt pocket or hood to further disguise the earphone connection.

3. Cover your ears with a hat or your hands. To assist conceal the earbuds, wear a cap that conceals your ears. If you don’t have a hat, try hiding your earphones with your hair if it’s long enough, or pretend to lean on one hand to hide an ear and listen through that ear exclusively.
There are even caps and ear warmers with unique compartments designed to accommodate earphones or tiny speakers!

4. Maintain a modest loudness. Keep your music level as low as possible so that those who are around do not hear it and catch you. A decent level is one that allows you to hear your phone ring or someone call your name.

5. If possible, listen from a computer. If you’re in a class or working situation where you can take notes on a computer or tablet, you can run your headphones through your clothing like a phone or MP3 player, but hide the connection to your computer with something like a scarf or jacket.
Minimize or keep your music player in the background of your screen, behind your notes.

6. Keep your eyes peeled. Check that you can multitask and pay attention to your surroundings while listening to music. Don’t be caught because you can’t answer a question in class or because you’re distracted when you should be communicating with others.

Listening to Music Out Loud at Home

1. Keep your speakers turned down low. Maintain a modest volume on your computer, CD player, record player, radio, or other speakers. If you can’t listen to music out loud, put on headphones.

2. When no one else is around, listen to music. Choose times of day when your parents or other family members are out of the home or sleeping.

3. Listen to music in a hidden chamber. Choose a well-insulated basement, attic, or other space in your home that is isolated from other people.

4. Make your room soundproof. Stuff a towel in the gap of your door and layer with additional blankets or pillows to help keep sound out, and if possible, cover the whole door with a blanket. If you’re worried about being heard from below, put down some thick rugs on the floor.

5. Perform a sound test. Start the music in your room, then walk into other parts of the home where you don’t want to be heard and change the level appropriately. If you’ve soundproofed your door, have someone else in the home who you don’t mind knowing about your music do the test for you.

6. Remove all traces. If you’re listening to CDs, LPs, or an MP3 player, be sure to put them away after you’re through. If you’re not permitted to possess a specific kind of music and want to leave less of a trace, consider streaming music online via sites like Spotify, Pandora, or YouTube.
Go to “History” on your browser to remove any music sites you’ve visited, and go to your browser settings to locate and empty your cache file. You may also listen to music sites without their appearing in your history by launching a “private” or “incognito” window.