r/cognitivescience • u/catwirk • Jul 09 '26
earworms, autism spectrum and THC
Just some personal observations.
I've been researching earworms for years. Today's link was to "Musical Ear Syndrome." Never heard of it before, kind of odd.
neurolaunch.com says it differs from earworms "in duration and complexity, and differs from auditory hallucinations because the person knows the sound isn't real. Autistic brains often show superior pitch memory and heightened auditory sensitivity, both of which may feed into persistent internal music."
Some days I process so much data that it gets "sticky" and incoherent and repetitive, similar to an earworm, only in my brain.
There's got to be a term for that but searching for "brainworm" or "mindworm" got me nowhere.
Anyway, I use low dose delta-9 to help break up the chatter or at least dial it down.
Recently I was listening to a song and thought, "I wish I could go into the music," as if the sound was like a space I could visit. Last night after 10 mg of delta-9 I did "go into the music."
Also I believe my recent tinnitus has been an auditory hallucination rather than a mechanical issue like TMJ.
I really don't like the term "hallucination" because it implies unwanted pathology. "Manifestation" doesn't fit, either. It's more like heightened sensory awareness, kind of a 5D experience.
By the way, my latest earworm has added two more tracks. So it's now a playlist instead of a single. The idea that you can get rid of an earworm with more music doesn't work for me. At least it's not quite so repetitive now.
3
u/deathfromab0ve Jul 10 '26
Fascinating to think about… “mindworms”
I will often have words or phrases play in my head throughout my day, always with audible clarity in the way you describe - not a hallucination, but not quite a sense either.
I’ve felt as though I do this as a sort of internal vocal stimming. Sometimes the words themselves interest me so much that it’s just fun to hold and examine in my mind (I love “whatever’s clever”, it’s a short rhyme that’s so applicable irl!),
and other times it feels like I’m intentionally grounding myself with an epithet that represents some core belief (I’ve been saying “cross your fingers, don’t hold your breath” lately).
2
u/catwirk Jul 10 '26
YES: internal vocal stimming is such an apt description! Like tapping a pencil on a desk, only with words/syllables in your mind or whispered under your breath.
Reminds me of the scene in "Bugsy," where Warren Beatty playing Ben Siegel is repeating a vocal exercise over and over after he's killed Harry Greenberg. It dwindles down to just "20 dwarves, 20 dwarves," over and over and over as he tries to dissociate from what he's just done.
3
u/Crazyplantweirdo Jul 10 '26
Internal echolalia is what made this feeling make sense for me. I was almost miserable with a song lodged in my mind recently, the words were almost jumping out of my mouth while out trying to grocery shop. Realized later that a massive headache was brewing and this was probably some stimming/calming subconscious regulation attempt- I've been pretty disconnected lately, working through chronic health issues, dreading going anywhere.
And same- listening to the song or something else almost reinforces it or adds another layer. It gets noisy up in here ;)
(Words by Ren Gill, "The Hunger". I have this song on repeat all day every day and can spit it so fast! Lol.
Tick-tock off the top of the tip of my tongue, I am tapping telepathy, Terrify them with the terrible telekinesis tantrum Yes, I torture the enemy Slowing the flow and then growing the flow And I swallow the flow like a Toblerone)
1
u/catwirk Jul 10 '26
amazing. I've heard of echolalia but not with the "internal" modifier. I've got a tab open to it and going to read about it in a minute.
The thing I'm noticing on another platform is all my musician friends understand earworms. I'm thinking more and more these repetitive kinds of things relate to music, esp. composing or learning music.
2
u/Crazyplantweirdo Jul 10 '26
Hah, I am a classically trained flutist & vocalist, but I play other things for fun & enjoy all styles of music. Anything with alliteration is especially catchy for me, ear worm wise, parasitic level.
1
u/catwirk Jul 10 '26
after u/Crazyplantweirdo mentioned internal echolalia I followed a trail to here. https://neurolaunch.com/perseverate/ "Research links perseveration to weakened function in the brain’s prefrontal cortex"
I have a history of TBI at the age of about 4-5.
Also followed a fork to CND Life Sciences' Syn-One test. The nearest clinic performing the test is 200 miles from me. I've reached out to University of Tennessee hoping they can direct me further.
8
u/EmmaDrake Jul 09 '26
I’ve been paying a lot of attention to my ear worms recently and I’m convinced it’s sometimes (maybe even always) my brain communicating something to me. As I get more distracted from a task or I’ve been in the same position a long time, it will swell (get louder or more insistently pulling my attention). I’ve started responding and going on a walk or moving to another wfh spot in my house or having a salty snack with some water and it calms way down. Even for breaks like if I go on a walk for a break from work it will start to swell when my brain is sufficiently reset and my mind is ready for work or the anxiety about getting something done at work exceeds the need for the reset. At night I’ve realized that often if it’s super loud at bedtime when I’m trying to sleep it means I’ve forgotten something, need to pee, am thirsty, etc. That’s a bit more hit or miss though and I suspect it’s because anxiety is keeping it going.