Help! I Got an Earworm!!!!!

Ever heard of an earworm? Sounds gross, doesn’t it? Like the email that circulated a couple of years ago about the South American larvae that burrowed 5 cm. deep in the lady’s breast, which would have been totally gross IF IT WERE TRUE (thank Snopes.com.)

An earworm is the term coined by University of Cincinnati research professor, Dr. James Kellaris, to reference getting a catchy/annoying song, tune, or jingle stuck in your head. http://www.business.uc.edu/earworms

Earworms aren’t actually heard, but are mentally recited over and over, often to distraction. At first it’s ok, but the longer the song repeats itself in your head the more annoying it gets.

What’s worse, you feel powerless to escape its effect. As you focus on NOT thinking about it, the stronger the repetitions are.

Next, you find yourself singing it aloud and infecting others with the annoyingly mesmerizing lyrics.

It creates a vicious cycle from which there is no return, until sleep or something totally fascinating knocks the tune right out of your brain.

My number one earworm has to be Amy Winehouse’s, “They tried to make me go to Rehab but I said no, no, no.” In my opinion, it’s the worst offender of all time.

Each time my co-worker, Jeri Ann, and I experienced the misfortune of hearing it on the radio and we sang it all day in that nasally, whiney intonation, no less. It got so bad, we began assaulting each other on purpose with the Rehab Virus. Once it took hold, there was no halting the attack.

But why does your internal record player gets stuck?

The answer is as elusive as Carter’s little liver pills are plentiful.
No one really knows.

At first, Dr. Kellaris presumed “music characterized by simplicity, repetitiveness, and incongruity with listeners’ expectations is most likely to become ‘stuck.’" However, his research showed that despite these traits “virtually any song can become an earworm for some people and some are more prone to earworms than others.”

Here's three theories:

• It can be likened to allergic reactions on the skin to certain biochemical agents which cause the skin to itch. The only way to relieve the irritation is to scratch, but scratching exacerbates the itch, throwing the victim into a vicious cycle of itch/scratch. This is known as Kellaris’ Theory of Cognitive Itch.
  
  
• Stuck songs are like stuck thoughts. To suppress a thought, we must actually HOLD that thought in the back of our minds. It’s not discarded, but rather guarded under lock and key to keep it at bay. Therefore, you subconsciously must think about exactly what you don’t want to think about.
  
  Like playing "The Game" for all of you “Game Players” out there. As soon as you think about the game you lose. Then it’s hard not to keep thinking about it, which is exactly why the rules say after somebody loses, everyone’s safe for the day.
  
  
• It’s a manifestation of one’s subconscious – the brain’s way of communicating something important such as the solution to a problem or a warning. To take it one step further, a message of Divine Intervention; God or our angels trying to tell us something.

Dr. Kellaris further proposes that “earworms may not have a single cause. An earworm may be like a stomach ache, for which there are many different possible causes. “

Whatever the reason, I find it amazing anyone was interested OR bored enough to actually study this phenomenon! I’ve been experiencing it all my life and never gave it so much as a second thought. It is what it is – a minimal nuisance/a part of life.

Aren't you glad your tuition didn't go to fund any of this, uhhhh....."research."

The following songs are examples of earworms according to Shawn Amos at getback.com:

“I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred
“Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men
“We Will Rock You” by Queen
“YMCA” by Village People

Now that you get the idea, play along.

This requires PARTICIPATION!

Comment to this post with YOUR personal earworms.

I can’t wait to read all the different tunes that get stuck in your head.

I’ll be waiting and looking……..in fact, I’ll go first with another one that comes to my mind.

I sure hope it doesn’t get stuck.