why can't i get that song out of my head?
got lady gaga playing over and over in your mind? try taking a walk.
5 minute read
lady gaga poses on the red carpet at the 52nd annual grammy awards in 2010. reuters/mario anzuoni
ever listen to “party in the u.s.a.” and then have it stuck in your head for what feels like weeks on end? no? just me? well, miley cyrus might not be your flavour, but if you have ever had a tune playing over and over in mind — particularly one you don’t like — you know how annoying it can be.
commonly known as an earworm, but also referred to as a brainworm, sticky music, stuck song syndrome, and scientifically, involuntary musical imagery (inmi) is the spontaneous mental recall of music that continuously plays in your mind.
according to the kennedy center, the term ‘earworm’ originated in germany — öhrwurm was used to describe a song being stuck in the brain. and although having a tune accompanying your every waking moment might sound a little comforting, neurologist dr. oliver sacks disagrees.
“usually an earworm is a fragment of music, usually three or four bars, which go round and round and round,” sacks told the kennedy center. “this is a special form of involuntary musical imagery which is out of control and can become quite unpleasant and intrusive.”
why do we get earworms?
earworms can occur due to the brain’s attempt to fill a gap in the auditory cortex, according to thailand’s samitivej hospital, which is located in the temporal lobe, and creates a ‘phonological loop’ in your short-term memory.
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in 2020, music psychologist kelly jakubowski and her colleagues at durham university in england published a comprehensive, qualitative review of much of the research on earworms and found that whether or not an earworm happens can vary widely from person to person.
some research indicates that we get earworms from a recent song we have listened to, one that we have listened to repeatedly or during a period of stress, or a song that reminds us of past events or memories. other studies suggest they often occur when we’re in a good mood.
however, there is also reason to believe earworms also happen when we’re feeling drowsy, lonely, tired or bored when the mind begins to wander.
and while jakubowski and her colleagues found that age doesn’t seem to affect how often you might get earworms, they seem to occur more often in women than in men.
does your personality make you more vulnerable to earworms?
some experts believe your personality might be a factor in how often you get an earworm — there are several studies that show a correlation between positive relationships to inmi experiences and ‘openness to experience’ and ‘neuroticism,’which are two of the most common personality traits. however, the durham university researchers noted other research that has found no significant links between personality factors and inmi frequency. in fact, they found “neuroticism and openness to be positively related to other aspects of inmi phenomenology, such as inmi duration.”
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the researchers also looked into the belief that earworms tend to occur more often in people who have a musical background, and that those people tend not to be as agitated by that tune that just won’t stop playing in their head. while jakubowski and her team found evidence supporting that claim, they also discovered that the frequency of earworms wasn’t limited to people with musical training. rather, anyone who engages with music a lot may be more susceptible to earworms.
the bottom line is that research on why, how and to whom earworms occur is quite ambiguous. but what we do know is that they are exceedingly common, with studies showing more than 90 per cent of people experience an earworm at least once a week.
what song is most likely to be an earworm?
while there is still much to learn about exactly how and why earworms happen, jakubowski and her team did nail down some characteristics that make some songs more likely to get stuck in our heads than others.
in a 2017 study done by the same researchers, they cross-referenced the melodic properties of specific songs with how popular the song was to try and explain how a song becomes an earworm. researchers surveyed 3,000 people to obtain an initial list of some of the most common songs that get stuck in people’s heads, and then took the songs that were mentioned the most and compared them with songs that were never mentioned by participants.
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the findings showed that ‘earworm songs’ had “more common global melodic contours and less common average gradients between melodic turning points than non-inmi tunes.” essentially, the earworm songs were faster and simpler with the pitch rising and falling in ways that made them easier to sing. they also had some unique intervals that made them stand out from an average song.
the survey results helped the researchers compile a list of the top nine songs that were most frequently named as inmi between 2010 and 2013:
- “bad romance,” lady gaga
- “can’t get you out of my head,” kylie minogue
- “don’t stop believin’,” journey
- “somebody that i used to know,” gotye
- “moves like jagger,” maroon 5
- “california gurls,” katy perry
- “bohemian rhapsody,” queen
- “alejandro,” lady gaga
- “poker face” lady gaga
how do you get rid of an earworm?
most of the research done by jakubowski’s team found that about two-thirds of people don’t mind an earworm now and then. but if that incessant tune is getting annoying, one way to get rid of it is acceptance. one study suggests not trying to actively fight against humming/singing the song if you can’t get it out of your head and to instead, “passively accept” it. the logic is that trying to resist the song may actually make your brain play it more frequently, a concept referred to as wegner’s theory.
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other strategies for deworming your ear include avoiding listening to songs repeatedly, chewing gum, or walking faster or slower than the beat of the song that’s stuck in your head. using your body to mix up the memory of the tempo can interrupt the repetition of the tune.
earworms can be a sign of a health condition
if an earworm is causing stress or keeping you up at night, it may be worth getting medical advice, since getting earworms repeatedly, or those that last more than 24 hours can be a sign of a brain disorder.
in cases where an earworm causes annoyance or stress, preventing you from enjoying your daily life and activities or disturbing your sleep, diverting your attention by engaging in other activities while avoiding popular or catchy music will usually solve the problem. if an earworm persists for longer than 24 hours it may be necessary to visit a doctor, as earworms can be related to obsessive-compulsive disorders, and rarely, epilepsy, migraine and palinacousis (continuing to hear a sound after the physical noise has disappeared)
nick beare is a toronto-based writer.
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