“Oh, yeah, I read that,” they say, before casually adding, “Actually I listened to it on Audible, but that’s basically the same thing, right?”

To some people, this is a statement of horror, but I must admit I have been guilty of it myself.

Others feel audiobooks may be the next step in reading evolution, following the rise of digital ebooks and the bankruptcy of Borders Group in 2011.

Audiobooks and podcasts are everywhere and only seem to be growing with the global audiobook market now worth over $5 billion.

Clearly reading and listening to a book use two separate senses of the human body, so they are not exactly the same. But how different are they really when it comes to understanding text?

According to TIME Magazine, the differences in comprehension and recall vary the most depending on the type of content you are ingesting. Is it leisure reading, technical reading, or a school-style lesson? According to the experts TIME interviewed, the comprehension of the latter types of content are significantly lessened by only listening.

So does that mean print books are better?

Not necessarily, says Psychology Today, which suggests that question is similar to asking, “Should I see the movie or read the book?” Die-hards will insist on a correct answer to that question, but for the rest of us, we can see that each one has fundamentally different benefits and drawbacks.

For example, audiobooks have opened a whole world for me during my daily commute. For the past 5 years, I drove over 100 miles a day, and having access to audiobooks felt like I was reading for fun for the first time since pre-college. The convenience and flexibility of audiobooks is unarguable, but that doesn’t mean they are better in all circumstances.

While I have seriously enjoyed listening to all things Martha Wells, my comprehension definitely dropped when I turned on “Mayo Clinic’s Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy.” I felt like I was missing more because of the technical depth and detail of the content. I noticed myself zoning out more and rewinding portions of the book. But even so, it was significantly easier to listen to an hour of that textbook at a time than it was to sit down and read it. But that might just be me.

As a teacher, it means I would prefer students to have a print text, but having an accompanying audio seems like an even better choice. This way everyone, and especially those who do not have grade-level reading skills, get the benefit of both.

We know listening and reading are skills that have large overlaps. We even teach reading to kids via listening. So if it means I get to be a kid again for the hour drive home after an exhausting day of work, I’ll take it.