I know someone who is sometimes (it's variable) able to "see" the dead and read people's minds. They told me they couldn't "hear" my thoughts - that I was one of those people that was a "dead zone" to them. And they said the same thing - that is was nice. Kinda the opposite to what you have going on in the story (cause of the addict part) lol
So I'm really intrigued with this story.