Yes, scientists at the University of Reading, UK say the best way to treat earworms is to chew gum.
Why we get earworms in the first place isn’t entirely clear, but one likely culprit is the brain’s auditory cortex, which processes sound. Dr. Philip Beaman, an associate professor of cognitive science at the University of Reading, says the brain’s tendency to repeat a familiar tune “may be a form of involuntary musical memory.” One proven method for degrading short-term memory is to repeat a random word over and over again in your head (the official term for this is “irrelevant sub-vocalisation”). Previous studies have shown that “mouthing something random like the first few letters of the alphabet while looking at a list of words makes most people forget 1/3 to 1/2 of the words on the list,” explains Deborah Netburn at the Los Angeles Times. The act of chewing gum has a similar effect, the new research suggests, and “therefore can be recommended as an aid to get rid of earworms.”
via Mental Floss
