Research suggests that students’ declining interest in literature is contributing to a broader decline in reading proficiency. While many students do not oppose reading itself, they often prefer to combine it with listening to music. To address this issue, the present study explores whether reading comprehension can be influenced by different auditory environments. A total of 105 upper secondary students, aged 17–18, participated in a classroom experiment in which they read three excerpts from The Kite Runner (2003) by Khaled Hosseini under three distinct sound conditions: ocean sounds, self-selected music, and silence. After each reading, participants answered ten related reading comprehension questions. The results indicate that while a minority of students may benefit from music or ambient sounds, reading performance was generally strongest in silent conditions.