Earworms: Parasitical refrains

(Fair Use)

Can’t get that song out of your head?  Chances are you’re dealing with the most ethereal of parasites:  an earworm.

Earworms, as they are commonly called, are parts of songs that stick in the mind.  They tend to “have quite a fast tempo, along with a common melodic shape and unusual intervals or repetitions.”  Think Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” or Journey’s “Don't Stop Believing.”

How can you kill one before it multiplies? Health Day recommends the following three strategies:  Listen to an entire song at once, so that a particular part doesn’t begin “looping in your brain.”  Listen to a different song in order to divert your cognitive focus. Let the earworm die a gentle death by not “feeding” it with too much attention.    

Resources

http://www.healthbanks.com/PatientPortal/MyPractice.aspx?UAID={3832435F-CB0D-493C-AEB1-E9AF6161A975}&TabID={X}&ArticleID=716474 

Copyright November 9, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved