Earworms and the Sound of a Self

Earworms may be experienced as a minor irritation or as a vampiric possession. In the latter case, the rhythm of an earworm obliterates the “personal rhythm” that the psychoanalyst Theodor Reik maintained is present in each individual. That personal rhythm begins with the mother’s heartbeat, followed by the cadence of the mother’s voice, the structures of one’s native language, and the social dynamic. Because this personal rhythm has accompanied us throughout our life, we no longer hear it. But when it is obliterated by the reiterated rhythms of a song, the victim can no longer sleep, work, or even think.