To ask if anyone else constantly has music running in their head?

[Mypremiumwhat]

I have music running constantly in my head all the time for as long as I can remember. It's normally there in the background like a low barely noticeable hum, but sometimes it becomes louder and more fucking annoying apparent. It's there regardless of what I'm doing, whether I'm watching tv, having a conversation, working, and the only time I can't (mentally) hear it is when I'm meditating or actually listening to music in real life.

Song changes are triggered by things I see, or words/phrases that I read or hear, and the music can be anything from songs I love, to songs I hate, to annoying jingles, to random instrumental music. One particular tune that gets stuck in my head regularly is the song that a toy telephone belonging to a girl I babysat 20 years ago used to play

I don't suffer from anxiety or any other mental health condition, and have no history of adhd or anything like that. But still the music persists. It doesn't bother me too much on a day-to-day basis but sometimes the songs turn into earworms and become infuriating. I never really paid much attention to it before, but read someone asking a similar question on another forum a while back and realised that it actually doesn't happen to everyone, and I've been very conscious of it since.

Is there any way of stopping it??

[UrsulaTee]

Yes, unfortunately at the moment it’s a rap song from Hamilton! I’m driving myself crazy

[Fyredraca]

I used to be able to play a song in my head. I used to fall asleep to telegraph road by Dire Straits.
I listen to a podcast or audiobook now to drown out my stress

[MajesticWhine]

I have Driftwood by Travis right now, and have done all day.

[treerocks]

Yes! I thought it was due to my hearing loss, associated to tinnitus!

Although DNiece also gets it and we often text each other with songs...

[BabyPotato]

Me me me! I've had it for as long as I remember. It's literally 24/7 and I have songs on in my dreams too. Currently it's the Bad Lip Reading "My Stick" song. It is genius though, so I don't really mind.

Interesting that people have mentioned ADHD because I have suspected that I might have ADHD for quite some time now. It's like my head is always muddled with racing thoughts and the songs and stuff and I find it really hard to form coherent thoughts. I look at other people talking and explaining something to others and it just seems so effortless. I struggle to explain to my husband what I'm about to have for lunch.

[Faircastle]

I can hear music in my head from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep. I often wake up with a random hymn tune, then sometimes even hearing a spoken phrase will trigger an associated song. The only time it stops temporarily is if I am speaking, singing, or listening to music, or watching a film or something. If I get a particularly annoying tune playing in my head then I will sing or hum something less annoying to replace it.

[99point9FahrenheitDegrees]

Mine feels like a subconscious soundtrack, so if I stop to listen I can often figure something out about how I'm feeling, like yesterday I switched off notifications on Fb after I couldn't get Stealing My Sunshine out of my head, and it stopped... I am ASD ADD too.

[chipsandgin]

ADHD here & yes - annoyingly it was REM ‘The end of the world as we know it’ at the beginning of the pandemic followed by the Queen/David Bowie version of ‘Under Pressure’ for a while...so usually relevant but quite distracting at times!

[Pinkywoo]

I have this too, sometimes I wake up with the same song in my head that I had going to sleep. Also at least several times a day for the last 20 odd years I get Jingle Bells playing in my brain, that can't be normal!

[OhTheTastyNuts]

I have a noisy brain. Usually a song from Hamilton, as both DSs are obsessed with the soundtrack. Also random words, imaginary conversations, and a bit of Tinnitus!

I have a DS with ASD but I'm fairly certain that I'm neuro typical.

[OhTheTastyNuts]

@UrsualTee Guns and Ships??

[MizzyFizz]

I have this, sometimes words and names too.

I have found recently that it is usually something I have not heard properly, is unusual verbally, am wondering where I knew that from or something similar and my brain is stuck on "what was that?" so it will not leave it alone. Sometimes for days at a time.

I started googling the thing that is stuck and reading a little about it. With songs, read through the lyrics.
Once my brain is satisfied, it leaves it alone unless I see or hear it again.

Might be worth a try.

[Rowgtfc72]

I call mine musical tourettes. I'll see something, or hear something or something will happen and my brain will find an appropriate song. Which I'll sing in my head until I'm prompted by something else. Near ran off the road the other morning on my bike by a big car and my brain went for " hey you get off of my cloud". It doesn't bother me. Is at times very inappropriate and I have been known to chuckle out loud.

[Confusedandshaken]

I'm completely neuro-typical as far as I know. My inner dialogue is pretty much 90% music and song based.

It was very useful when I was a practicing psychotherapist. The songs and lyrics that came into my head as I listened to clients were often very useful in helping me understand transference and helped me make meaningful interventions.

[BogRollBOGOF]

Radio BOGOF provides a constant service. Sometimes it's something I heard recently, sometimes random, sometimes triggered by a thought or a mood. There are certain songs I "play" to drown out more irritating one. The Beautiful South are good for that as the lyric follows the tune easily.

My brain can rabbit on in a few directions at the same time including music and internal monologue.

DS has ASD and dyspraxia. My only diagnosis is an auditory processing issue but I supect that there is more. Descriptions of adult, female ADD and dyspraxia tend to sound like they were written by someone who knows me very well..

[ratspeaker]

Oh, I'm not alone!
sometimes it's a jingle, or a repeated phrase from a song or classical music
Seems to change most days
Today is close to the edge by Lacuna Coil

I remember asking my mum when I was around 7 if they would be the right words when the songs were in my head as I didn't know them to sing them
She looked quizzical and said she didn't know what was in my head

Im not sure about ADHD or ASD though one adult child is currently being assessed , one Im sure is on spectrum and all but one are dyslexic

[Recorditnow]

Me too, a constant jukebox in my head.

[prettylittlestar]

Yes I understand where you we coming from. And it's the most bloody annoying songs isnt it 😂.

[DaisyChain21]

Yes, bloody paw patrol at the moment 🤪🤪

[Treaclepie19]

Yep. I have a very noisy brain. Music, thoughts, feelings, random sounds.

I do have ocd and I'm increasingly wondering about adhd.

[PickAChew]

Yes, I have a permanent earworm. Pisses me off when it's a song I hate. Sometimes amuses my when my brain automatically mashes 2 tunes together, like Anna Calvi "as a man" and the theme from have I got news for you :o

I have the broader autistic phenotype and autism runs in my family.

[suckingonchillidogs]

Apparently if you chew gum it will stop you thinking of the song as the brain can't do both things at once!

[PickAChew]

Nah. Mine are loudest when I'm eating.

[Looubylou]

This doesn't even sound possible! Should I be jealous?

[FrankensteinIsTheMonster]

Always.

It's even more insistent and "loud" and repetitive when I'm hypomanic, but it's never not there.