Help, I've got earworms

[Sven]

I'm not kidding and it's also starting to make me feel completely out of control in this matter.

It's not just once in a while that there's a song stuck in my head. No, it's always. Every day. For example: I might go to work out and then cycle home, only to realize that the last song which was playing in the gym is playing in my head the entire time and even when i come home.

I only became conscious of this now that I am meditating for about two months again.

My path so far from my perspective is very rollercoaster-like. Had some great times but usually I try too hard to hold on to the peaceful days and then I get ego backlash. I often forget what I'm even doing at all in regards to this work.

I googled for this stuff, but I hate the advice google offers. "Finish the song and then do a cognitive task" yeah great... But what if you always have a song running through your head?

I like singing. So sometimes I even sing the songs. An example would be Wake me Up from Avicii (irony) which I have sung now for maybe a month daily. I'm not even that good at singing.

These are options I am considering:
1 I've read on modafinil recently on the forum, perhaps this can be the trick. I don't know.
2 Starting a journal on this forum and keeping track of... well... I don't know what I am supposed to keep track of. I get lost in this stuff all the time.

Thanks for reading. Just had to address this as it's definitely driving me mad.

[Sven]

How do you deal with your tinnitus? @John Lula

[Pharion]

@Sven I had the same thing happen a while back when i decided to quit music. I normal listen to music a lot, but at the time I really wanted to create more time for self reflection and quiet thinking or even no thinking- basically quiet my mind way down. So I decided ok no media distraction at all, other than the occasional Actualized.org video or philosophy audio book while im eating etc. Anyway skip to a couple days into this, and I still had songs going in my head all the time. the ear worms got worse as if my mind was trying to compensate double time for all the music I wasnt listening to. That night I tried meditating, and the entire time I had "All in the family" by KoRn of all songs playing in my head. I couldn't focus, and nothing was going to make it stop so I eventually gave in and decided to stop  this experiment. Looking back, I think it was homeostasis trying to pull me back into distracting media. I shouldv'e stuck with it. How long has this been goingg on? If it's only been a few days id say double down on your efforts and just push through. If it keeps distracting you it may to a choice between listening to music and not. As much as I love music, it's the more icing on the cake of having a clear mind. Good luck with that, and let anyone belittle this problem, I know how infuriating it actually is when this happens.

[YaNanNallari]

I think I know why they're there. Honestly, you don't have to do anything about them. If you're worried about it, that's fine. They might be signaling you of another issue. But the earworms, they are there for "a reason", it is understandable why it's there. I recommend trying to relax, like overall. Relax body parts etc

[thehero]

perhaps full surrender to the song

[Lalelou123]

I have nursery rhymes in my head a lot of times. That's far worse - but luckily I can ignore them. They just come up, when I'm walking or do not much at all. For a little explanation - I'm a nursery teacher and I think, that my mind just overcompensates for silence. It all started with a noisy neighbor, which made me wear headphones and listen to my own music for some time. When I finally moved and had my silent time again, I started to hear music, which wasn't there. (That's how bad it was) Like when I turned on the fume cupboard. It got better over time - but the nursery rhymes still are an issue from time to time. Did you quit music?

[Sven]

Yes I think you guys might be onto something.

I believe I did at some point quit listening to music. I say I believe because frankly I need to keep up with my diary. I just don't remember what I did a month ago.

But the "overcompensating" might be true.

Normally my mind is completely cluttered with just a ridiculous amount of nonsense e.g. "monkeymind" is strong here. Now that I have begun meditating again as I mentioned, it seems as the most stubborn parts of the monkeymind stay active, taking form as earworms (among other things).

You say it got better over time @Lalelou123? Any reason for this? I always tend to think in causal relations since if there's no source to be identified how can I form a solution, right?

As far as all the de-sress and (body) relaxation responses go: I will keep meditating daily. I am definitely considering starting a daily journal here just to serve as a push factor towards daily practice. And then simultaneously let go of the "need to change things".

I still feel like I'm missing a key element here, though. It's just bugging me. It might be stress as was mentioned. Maybe the earworms are just a sympton of something more fundamental?

[Lalelou123]

For me it just got better on it's own to be true. I mean, if I heard music "behind" the real noise like the fume cupboard, I stopped that noise and made clear, that there is actually no music playing. But in your case, it's different. You take songs with you on the go and you already tried to sing them out. Hmmm...maybe you could try to laugh about it and tell them to someone? Maybe you could purposefully introduce music again. I would try to take ten minutes a day aside and listen to meditation music while meditating to it. It could put your monkey mind on ease for cases, when there is other music, because you introduce meditation with and without. Therefore you accept music into your life again and it's not special anymore. It's just a theory though...

[now is forever]

@Sven did you ever try white noise? earphones in, earworm out, could work.