Recently, I keep getting old songs stuck in my head. First, it was System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!" then “Rock Lobster” by the B-52s, and most recently it was Fireboy DML’s infectious chorus on “Champion.” It all got me wondering: What’s behind these earworms?

Why We Get Earworms

First, you might wonder: What's an earworm? If you're picturing creepy crawlies wiggling out of your ear canal, rest assured — it's not a scene from a body horror movie. An earworm is simply a catchy snippet of music, often a chorus or melody, that loops in your mind involuntarily. The term "earworm" comes from the German word Ohrwurm, and the phenomenon is also known as involuntary musical imagery (INMI).

We've all been there. You hear a catchy tune, maybe just in passing, and before you know it, it's playing on repeat in your head for hours. But why does this happen? What is it about certain songs that make them stick?

The phenomenon of earworms is rooted in the way our brains process and store music. When we hear a song, the auditory cortex — the part of the brain responsible for processing sound — becomes activated. This activation often involves connections with the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory and learning, and the frontal cortex, which processes emotional responses. Together, these regions form a "neural orchestra" that can be hijacked by particularly catchy tunes.

Catchy songs often have specific characteristics that make them more likely to become earworms. Research shows that earworm-inducing songs tend to have faster tempos, simple yet distinctive melodies, and repetitive patterns. These features create a "memory hook," embedding the tune in our minds.

Once a song is stored in memory, it can be triggered by various cues, such as hearing a similar rhythm, experiencing a related emotion, or even being in a similar environment. One theory suggests that the brain's phonological loop — a short-term memory system in the auditory cortex — plays a key role in this process. The phonological loop acts like a "short loop of recording tape," continuously replaying auditory information, which can explain why the song seems to echo in your mind.

Interestingly, earworms are not just about memory; they also engage the brain's reward system. Catchy songs can stimulate emotional responses, which may reinforce the loop. This interplay between memory, emotion, and auditory processing is why earworms can feel so persistent.

Science-Backed Ways to Erase the Earworm

Rest assured, there are ways you can break those loops. A few simple tricks can rid you of a pesky earworms in no time. Here are three proven ways to erase an earworm:

• Play the entire song that contains your earworm. This often breaks the cycle for me for reasons I can't explain.

• Listen to different music while actively focusing on it — this can help replace the stuck song.

• Try specialized "earworm eraser" tracks, engineered specifically to clear these loops from your memory.

So the next time you find yourself humming "Baby Shark" for the 15th time (sorry if I just gave you a new earworm!), you've got some science-backed strategies to break free. My personal favorite is playing the full song — it works like magic about *90% of the time. (That’s a made-up stat, by the way.)

And hey, if none of these tricks work? Take comfort in knowing that most earworms naturally fade away within 24 hours. Your brain will eventually get bored and move on to its next fascinating quirk — which, who knows, might be the subject of my next Brain Food post.

Next Week on Feed Your Curiosity

There's a wild story behind that humble cashew in your trail mix that'll change how you think about these not-really-nuts forever — catch the full story in next week's Feed Your Curiosity newsletter!

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I'm Bryan M. Vance, a writer who hunts down stories that make people say "wait, really?" Each month, I share fascinating tales about our wonderfully weird world — from mind-bending scientific discoveries to bizarre historical footnotes that time forgot.

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