worm

Photo courtesy of Sylvanus Urban of Unsplash

Psychologist Vicky Williamson says that the problem happens to nearly 90% of people every week.

It’s the dreaded ear worm. You know what I’m talking about. You’re going about your day and you suddenly realize you’ve been singing the same song in your head over and over and over. For hours.

I have been known to shout out to no one in particular, “Make it stop!” Fortunately, I’m usually at home when I allow myself this outburst so it’s only the dog or the husband who gives me that she crazy look.

The phrase ear worm is actually in the dictionary; it’s defined as a song or melody that keeps repeating in one’s mind.

With the many dreadful diseases in the world that need a cure, it seems almost silly for researchers to study ear worms. But they do.

When regular people were asked why they believe ear worms happen, most say that a song is just too catchy. But new research revealed on CNN just six days ago identifies three key reasons why a song might become an ear worm.

Kelly Jakubowski, a music psychologist at Durham University in the UK and her team of researchers found that if a song is upbeat (and makes you want to move), it’s more likely to become an ear worm.

A melodic song that rises and falls in pitch is also a good candidate to be an ear worm.

The third aspect that puts a song on the EW Best Hits list is one that has some “catchy surprises while maintaining a simple, uniform pattern.”

So now that we know why a particular song might get stuck in our heads, what can we do about it?

Here’s the best advice I found.

  • Vigorously chew gum. It turns out that chewing gum makes thinking about tunes more difficult. This is likely why you won’t see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir chewing gum as they belt out the Hallelujah Chorus.
  • Call someone who is a good conversationalist to take your mind off the song. The more we talk and listen, the less time our brain can devote to torturing us.
  • Listen to another song. And pray that the new one doesn’t get stuck in your head.
  • Actually listen closely to the offending song. Sometimes we get a song stuck on replay because we don’t know all the words.

And here’s my personal advice, no research behind it. Complain about it to someone else as in: “Ugh. I have the Statler Brothers song I Saw Your Picture in the Paper Sunday Morning stuck in my head. You know, it goes like this.” Then sing a bar or two. If the person doesn’t know the song, it may be necessary for you to forward the You Tube link to them so that they can really capture it.

Yes…give your ear worm to someone else and you’ll be free of it!

You’re welcome.