Auditory Illusion

They bore into your head. They won't let go. There's no known cure. Earworms can attack almost anyone at almost any time.

No, it's not an invasion of jungle insects. It's worse. Earworms are those songs, jingles, and tunes that get stuck inside your head. You're almost certain to know the feeling, according to marketing professor James J. Kellaris, PhD, of the University of Cincinnati.

What do you think do these qualify as illusions? There is no music, no song that anyone else can hear, but they persist in our heads sometimes for hours or days.

Nearly 98% of people have had songs stuck in their head, Kellaris reported at the recent meeting of the Society for Consumer Psychology. The 559 students -- at an average age of 23 -- had lots of trouble with the Chili's "Baby Back Ribs" Jingle and with the Baha Men song "Who Let the Dogs Out." But Kellaris found that most often, each person tends to be haunted by their own demon tunes. Read the rest on WebMD. Also check out Exploratorium, The Science of Music.

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