06/07/2026
An earworm is that little tune stuck I your head! Harvard scientists indicate it is tied to the memory (and of course) music portions of our brains.
What happens is that connections in our brains involving these regions get “stuck,” resulting in an automatic playing out of musical memories. Some research suggests that people who have difficulty with working memory, like those suffering from attention-deficit disorder, may experience earworms less, while people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, where there are these loops that play over involuntarily in their heads, may be more prone to earworms.
To get rid of an earworm you can try distraction, engaging in another thing that will require the use of some of these brain regions and circuits and functions so that you’re taking them literally in another direction. Others advocate more of a mindfulness approach —just let it play out and try not to focus on it too much. And then some suggest playing actual music, because you can replace what has been stuck in your head with something else.
