People around me who have ADD claim that the right amount of distraction increases their focus/productivity. I cannot personally verify.
For me personally, little distraction is good. And the distractions should be ones that don't suck me in - a window to look out for a minute is fine, a video game to play for a minute is disastrous. For me.
I don't have ADD, but I have clearly observed that listening to a YouTube video of people talking while I work increases my productivity.
I think it's because when I lose focus of my code, I will just end up listening to the video for like a minute, without having to even switch to my browser window. Without that, I would have the tendency to open Reddit/Twitter/this site whenever I get slightly distracted.
This of course requires picking videos that are both very long (don't want to go looking for a new one every 20min) and very casual (I don't want to have to actively listen to it).
I often make decisions on background noise with regard to verbal/nonverbal tasks, needing a rhythm, or needing to block out some other distractions.
Try instrumental music when you have verbal/intellectual needs. A good Latin dance channel helps me get in a rhythm for physical housework and stuff. If others are bickering around me, time for earphones or some encouraging spoken-word.
With ADD (now called ADHD-PI) distractions sure increase my focus and productivity- but only on/towards the distraction itself.
ADHD includes hyperfocus, trouble transitioning, and time blindness... "a video game for a minute" is about the worst thing you could have, because by the time the "minute" feels over, it has actually been all day!
It depends on how interesting the thing I'm needing to focus on is. If it's super interesting, I just block out external stimuli, since it will actually aggravate me.
The flip side is if I'm doing something boring, I have to have some other distraction going to keep the dopamine flowing, because the regular task isn't creating it. It's usually something pretty simple, a background TV show (mythbusters/how it's made/DDD, etc), youtube build videos, or up-beat music. Something novel enough to keep me interested, but not so interesting that it takes my attention away from my target task.
And yes, meds. They let me enact such a plan, letting me manage the executive dysfunction which would otherwise throw a spanner in the works.
For me personally, little distraction is good. And the distractions should be ones that don't suck me in - a window to look out for a minute is fine, a video game to play for a minute is disastrous. For me.