Most Common Earworms Identified
Researchers in Montreal shed new light on the “earworm”, an annoying song that plays inside the head, over and over. Familiar, repetitive songs and those with trivial or sappy lyrics are “stickier” or more likely to be lodged in the brain, according to Professor Sylvie Hebert at the University of Montreal. Often, just the chorus repeats, not the entire song. In fact, the patient may not even know the entire song.
Perhaps surprisingly, earworms tend to occur when people are in a positive mood, especially when participating in activities that are not intellectually challenging, like walking, commuting or taking a shower.
The apt term for obsessive melodies that worm into the brain through the ear is adapted from the German word Ohrwurm. James Kellaris at the University of Cincinnati is thought to be the first person to coin the term earworm, also known as humsickness, music meme or a tune wedgy.
According to Kellaris, some people are more susceptible to earworms, but nearly everyone has experienced this annoyance at least once.
The Montreal study found that musicians are more prone to earworms than others, and their earworms last longer. However, the melody they hear may be Chopin or Brahms, rather than “It’s a Small World” or “I Love You, You Love Me” from the Barney Show.
Among non-musicians, earworms may be language-specific. French-speaking Montreal residents identified “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor and “Manamana” by the Muppets as two of the most frequent earworms. English-speakers were more likely to be afflicted by “The Pink Panther”, “We Will Rock You”, “The Macarena”, “America” from West Side Story or the theme from “Gilligan’s Island.”
In extreme cases, an obsessive melody can repeat for days. Earworms are annoying, but rarely a serious psychological problem. No treatment for earworms is foolproof. However, researchers did report some success when the patient engaged in an absorbing activity that required concentration, like solving quadratic equations or writing a novel.
Individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD are more likely to get earworms. Some drugs for OCD may reduce the frequency and duration of earworms.
The Montreal researchers found that singing the song to another person was not effective in dislodging the earworm, and could spark resentment.
By Joni Holderman, [email protected], contributing reporter for Mental Health News.