Stop the Music! How to Evict an Earworm with Kia-Rai Prewitt, PhD

Podcast Transcript

John Horton:

Hey, there, and welcome to another Health Essentials Podcast. I'm John Horton, your host.

Before we start this podcast, a warning seems in order: What we talk about may get stuck in your head for a while. That's because our topic is earworms, those tunes that land in your brain and play on in what seems like a never-ending loop. To paraphrase a certain catchy song, it can rock you. So what makes this musical itch happen? And more importantly, is there a way to shake it off?

We're putting psychologist Kia-Rai Prewitt on the mic today to sing the truth about this phenomenon. She's one of the many experts at Cleveland Clinic who visit our weekly podcast to give us a better understanding of how our minds and bodies work. Now, let's see what advice she has to get those pesky little ditties out of our noggin and truly beat it.

Welcome back to the podcast, Dr. Prewitt. I have to tell you, we're talking in the nick of time because after researching earworms for this chat, I've got overload going on in my brain. It's been a battle with all these songs up here.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yes. Hi, John. Thank you for having me.

John Horton:

So, not that I want to wish one of these songs on you or risk getting it stuck in your head, but we all have those tunes that end up getting a little sticky and hanging on in there. What's one of yours that just once it gets in there, it won't go away?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

“It Depends” by Chris Brown. [inaudible 00:01:30]. So I'm a big Chris Brown fan. I'm going to his concert next month. So there's certain songs ... I feel like I'm just listening to a lot of his music lately. So I'm listening to that song probably way too many times.

John Horton:

Well, I got to tell you, one of mine that instantly comes to mind is way less cool, but it was “Baby Shark” because my grandkids-

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

…oh, oh, my God.

John Horton:

Oh, good God, they would play that constantly. And once that gets in there, I don't think I was right for a year.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah, that one … I'm glad I don't have it stuck in my head anymore, but it probably will be now that we've had this conversation.

John Horton:

That's the risk of it. What most of us know as an earworm actually has a formal scientific name, “involuntary musical imagery.” And I love that that's known as with the abbreviation, it's INMI, which is really hysterical when you think about it.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah, for sure.

John Horton:

But all kidding aside, what's the best way to define this kind of sticky music situation where it just gets stuck in your head and won't leave?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

I mean, well, you use the term “earworm,” and that's really what it is, is that you have this song that might be playing in your head repetitively, comes out of nowhere. It could be an actual song, or jingles are really popular, and so it's not uncommon for people to have jingles from a commercial in their head.

John Horton:

Well, and I've read a lot of times, it's not like the full song, because I know when I get them stuck in there, it's not like you play it end to end. You get that one little fragment in there, and it goes and goes and goes.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah. And I'm glad you said that because it's normally like the hook. If you think about a song, there's something that you hear repetitively, so you hear repetitively. It's just like with songs, a lot of times, we don't know most of the words to the song, but as soon as our part comes on, we can jump right in there and sing it. And that's usually the part that gets stuck in your head.

John Horton:

Do we know why this happens? I mean, why do our brains torture us by hitting that repeat button over and over and over again?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah, I mean, there's some different theories about it. I think a lot of it has to do with just memory and how our brains work. Our brains are so complex, doing things all the time. And so memory, a lot of times, is stored, based off of emotions. Sometimes, these songs are triggered based off of maybe a commercial you saw or maybe you see something on the street, and it might remind you of a song that you used to listen to. So a lot of times, emotions can trigger memory for a song, but I think there's some complexities as far as why these things happen.

John Horton:

And some of it is just like the song itself. I mean, there are just those catchy rhythms that they just seem to automatically go in.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah, I don't know. I grew up in Chicago, and there was a commercial for Empire, and so I've probably been hearing that commercial since I was 5 years old, and stopped hearing it probably something umpteen years ago. I'm not going to say how long ago, but I still know the exact melody. I will always remember the phone number for Empire because they always would sing it. And so yes, there's just certain things that just get stuck, and I think it's … if you keep hearing it over and over and over again, it doesn't take much to recall it.

John Horton:

No. And commercials are some of the worst things. And I know in Cleveland, we've got those, too, those ones that just, they're always there, and it almost becomes a joke after a while because we all have it in our heads.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah, it's funny because even as we're talking, I'm like, "Yep, there's a song going in the back of my head from Cleveland." So yeah. And it's so weird. And it's funny how that happens. It also happens, you may notice, maybe someone mentions a song that's in their head, next thing you know, it's in your head, too. So I think that happens for a lot of folks, too.

John Horton:

It really is like they're infectious. I swear it's like the flu. I mean, it'll spread in a heartbeat. If somebody just mentions it to you or they tell you they've got it stuck in your head, it'll cling to you, too.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

And like you said, there's some songs that are really catchy depending on the beat or the melody, or it might be something that maybe was taken from another song that you knew, and now somebody's remixed it or sampled it, so now you've got the new lyrics or maybe even the old lyrics in your head. So yeah, I think there's a lot of reasons why these songs just stay.

John Horton:

Are there certain characteristics that make getting an earworm more common, or you're more likely to have this happen?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

So I'm not familiar with any characteristics, per se. However, I would think that people who are musically attuned or maybe even have a certain genre of music that they really enjoy, maybe they have a certain focus on certain types of melodies. I have a feeling they probably would really be attuned to certain types of music. So I think part of it might even be personality.

John Horton:

For the record, my genre, chosen genre of music, is not “Baby Shark.” So I just want to get that out there. That's not what I rock out to when I'm driving around.

I mean, if you get earworms all the time and you have this, it could be a sign of ... I saw where it could be linked to maybe OCD or something like that. Is there a link there?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah, so I actually have seen that as well. So people with OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, struggle with intrusive thoughts. And so music could be one of those ways that it could present itself. And so a song could be playing over and over in someone's head, and maybe they have a hard time getting it out of their head. And so if it's causing distress, that could also be linked as well.

John Horton:

You talked about distress or maybe stress being a trigger. Could sometimes, this also be a mechanism we use to calm ourselves down? Because some of these songs are ... they're comforting, I mean, we like them. And even though I joke about Baby Shark, it was a wonderful time, man. I had little grandkids that are running around, they're doing whatever, so it brings back happy memories, even if I get tired of hearing the song. But could there be that you're using it that way, too?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah. It's so funny you mentioned that. So there's a song by Bruno Mars, “Count on Me,” and it's so funny because-

John Horton:

…1, 2, 3, yeah, I know it.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yep. And so my dad actually used to love the song, and my oldest daughter, who will be 14 next week, that was her favorite song as well, so it was a moment that was shared by my dad and my oldest daughter. Well, now my youngest daughter, who's 7, that has become a favorite of hers, and so now she sings it all the time.

And it's so funny, I told my dad, and I said, "Remember you used to sing this with Kamiya?" That's my oldest daughter. And he's like, "No, not really." I said, "Well, I do." I said, "And so now Malia is singing it." And I think, like you talked about, it brings a sort of comfort. And so here, my youngest daughter sings the same song that used to be a favorite between my dad and my oldest daughter, brings back these pleasant memories. So I definitely think it can be associated with comfort as well.

John Horton:

Yeah, that's when you realize, music is such a powerful force, and it sinks into us, and it brings out so many emotions and thoughts and feelings, which a lot of ... I think it does tie into these earworms that get stuck in there.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Music is comforting for a lot of people. When I talk about what we call “self-soothing” — so maybe you're having a difficult time, self-soothing is doing something that can appeal to one or more of your five senses. And so listening to music or having a tune in your head or something that brings you comfort, I think, can be very helpful. So yeah, if it's an earworm for you but it helps you work through a difficult situation, it could be really positive.

John Horton:

We did just put a happy face on earworms, which I kind of like. We don't want to make it all seem bad, but as we all know, it can also be bad. If you get that hippopotamus song at Christmas stuck in your head, you want it out, it's got to go.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

[inaudible 00:09:44]. I don't know if I know the hippopotamus song.

John Horton:

Oh, don't look it up, man. Nobody wants a hippopotamus for Christmas, and you don't want that song in your head.

So if we're going to get rid of these things, what can we do to get that song out of our head?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

It may be finding a new song to turn on, and so if you can't get it out of your head, refocusing on something else. It might be doing something to distract yourself. I mentioned distress earlier, so if it's something that's causing distress, sometimes it might be because it's triggering maybe an unhappy or unsettling memory, it could be linked to some type of trauma or very difficult event in your life, too. And so if you notice that every time that song comes in your head, you're having a really strong or difficult reaction, it might be worth talking to somebody about as well.

John Horton:

If you do have one of these songs … I saw one tip online where they recommended just listening to the full song because, like I said, we usually get that one little loop in there. So it's almost like you fight fire with fire, like, "All right, you're going to be stuck in there, then I'm going to really listen to you," and it just forces it out.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

So it's more of an approach, is what I'm hearing, so leaning into that. And I could see that being helpful for some people as well. But if someone continues to struggle and it causes even more pain or suffering or you just notice a lot of discomfort, again, I would check it out with somebody.

John Horton:

What other approaches could somebody try if they were just going to try to get that annoying one out for a little bit?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

First, I would see, how are you reacting to it? So if it's bringing you pleasant emotions and it's helping you work through maybe a situation or help you work through the day, I wouldn't worry about it too much. But otherwise, I would either take the suggestions you mentioned. So one, you could listen to the songs and see if that helps you get rid of it. I would find another song. It might be watching a movie, going for a walk, doing something that brings you to the present. So noticing, like, "I'm noticing the song won't get out of my head. Let me see if I can refocus on something else."

John Horton:

Yeah, I even read one thing where they said chewing gum might help because it actually activates the part of the brain where music lives and rocks up.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

If it works, I would say try it [inaudible 00:12:12].

John Horton:

Just don't think of the gum jingle while you're doing it.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Yeah, [inaudible 00:12:19] I know. Was it Wrigley? See, that just came out.

So I think we have so many different references. So I think whatever you can do, the gum-chewing, like I said, the mindfulness, leaning into the song, I think all of those are great suggestions, but it's just something normal that happens. And so sometimes, I'm thinking, rather than try to get rid of it, just go with it, and just know there will be something else that comes up, too.

John Horton:

I was going to say, that's the thing, I am guessing earworms are rarely terminal. So this is one of those things, if you just wait it out, it should eventually go away, even if it is maybe replaced by another one.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

And it may be, maybe a song comes to memory from years ago and it reminds you of something funny that happened. You may just reach out, especially if that was a shared event, you might reach out, "Hey, remember when this thing happened?" Or "This song popped in my head, and it reminded me of you." And so sometimes, it can actually be a reminder to connect with someone, or it might be a reminder of like, "Oh, I remember during that time in my life I was engaging in these types of activities. I haven't done that in a while. Maybe I can do something about that." And so sometimes, it can bring back a sense of nostalgia as well. And so it's not always a bad thing, but again, if you're noticing it's causing a lot of discomfort and you're really worried about it, I would just talk to a medical provider about it or a behavioral health specialist.

John Horton:

You don't want one of these songs getting in the way of your happiness or your quality of life or things like that. If it gets to that point, yeah, definitely, see somebody.

Dr. Prewitt, I'm sure we all have some tombs that we feel like we need to listen to now after doing this, but before we break away and cue up a playlist, do you have any final words of advice for us when it comes to earworms?

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Well, just know it's normal, it is normal. That's just how our brain works. There's going to be certain emotions, I think, tied to certain songs. And so you may notice that certain songs may come to mind more than other songs. And so if it's really bothersome, doing some things that can take your mind off of it or distract you. Otherwise, lean in into it. So you mentioned “Baby Shark.” If “Baby Shark” is in your head, sing it and keep moving. And maybe come up with a little dance as you sing. If it reminds-

John Horton:

…there is a dance. I'm not going to do it right now because-

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

…I know.

John Horton:

...I'm trying to hold it at bay. But no, there is one.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

There's a dance to “It Depends,” too, by Chris Brown. I'm not going to do it, I haven't learned it. But it's one of those things, it might just be something that brings you a sense of calm, a sense of peace. And so sometimes songs, I think, remind us to just be in the moment. It might bring a smile to your face during a time of stress. And so it's not something to necessarily avoid; it's just something normal that happens.

John Horton:

Well, Dr. Prewitt, I really appreciate you coming in. This is a really fun conversation, and we definitely got to have you back on. Maybe we can have a dance party next time because we already got these songs going, so we'll lean into that, too.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

I say I'm all for it, I'm all for it. Thank you.

John Horton:

All right. Thank you very much, and like I said, look forward to having you on again.

Dr. Kia-Rai Prewitt:

Thank you. I appreciate it.

John Horton:

It's estimated that 98% of us experience earworms at some point, so it's a good thing they're pretty harmless. Still, those sticky songs can be pretty annoying. Try some of the tips suggested by Dr. Prewitt if you want to stop that tune. Trust me, you can do it. Just don't stop believing it's possible.

If you liked what you heard today, please hit the subscribe button and leave a comment to share your thoughts. Until next time, be well.