In the shower, in transport, at work… Can’t get this song out of your head? While this annoying phenomenon is nothing to worry about, it can be a source of nuisance and disrupt “concentration, rest or the feeling of having a calm mind” warns Dr. Sergio Benavente López, head of the psychiatry department. Behind this phenomenon lies well-established brain mechanics.
This mechanism has a scientific name: “the involuntary musical image”, also called “ear effect”. “This is a normal and very common phenomenon, and not a sign of illness”reassures the doctor to the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial. It has the particularity of only being triggered by music, never by other everyday noises, such as mouth noises. The music is indeed “a complex cognitive and emotional experience”that’s why an advertising jingle sticks in your mind, where the noise of the microwave leaves no trace.
But then, why does a melody replay itself over and over in our head in spite of ourselves? “Our brains are uniquely designed to detect, learn and repeat patterns, and music makes a near-perfect pattern because it has rhythm, repetition, structure and immense emotional impact.”explains the expert. And this emotion plays a key role: “Often a song is associated with an emotional state, a memory or a specific context, such as an advertisement, a film, a pleasant moment… which facilitates its subsequent reactivation, when we feel a similar emotional state again, without even being aware of it.” Result : “When we hear a simple, repetitive or unfinished melody, such as a chorus, the brain tends to create a loop and repeat it automatically, even without us intending it to.”
Although everyone has already experienced it, we are not all equal when it comes to this phenomenon. According to Dr. Benavente López, it is “more common in people with very active minds, those who tend to think too much, or in times of fatigue and stress, when the brain operates more on autopilot and any melody can slip in”. Also at greater risk are serious music fans, musicians and people who are emotionally receptive to a song.
To free yourself from it, above all, don’t force it. “The more we fight against a song, the more it anchors itself in us”warns the specialist. His strategy? “Sometimes listening to the whole song is helpful”in order to unblock the loop passage. Failing that, the psychiatrist advises immersing yourself in an activity that fully mobilizes attention, or changing the sound stimulus. “Usually, when you stop fighting, it eventually goes away on its own.”he concludes. In rare cases, however, the melody becomes so overwhelming that it causes real suffering and can be associated with certain obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). If the song plays on repeat to the point of lastingly disrupting your daily life, it is better to talk to a healthcare professional.
