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#68089 04/29/02 09:59 PM
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For years I have searched for a word which means the condition of having a tune on your mind -- on your mind to the extent that it has become annoying -- in my own case.


#68090 04/29/02 10:03 PM
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Welcome LarryGrannis. I'm sorry I don't know the answer to your question, either. Do you have something in mind[besides the song]? What do you call it besides annoying? Want to coin a word for it? All I've got are more questions, no answers.



#68091 04/29/02 10:22 PM
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Dear LarryGrannis: There is a long list of symptoms that my occur in Obsessive-Compusive disorders. There is such a thing as a compulsion to have the illusion of hearing a particular piece of music over and over. Perhaps it is related to some important event in your long ago past, the memory of which you are repressing.


#68092 04/29/02 10:28 PM
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I have tried to coin a word for this tunefull condition as have friends, but we haven't come up with a winner yet. One reject is tuneration (tune plus part of perseveration). I work on houses and will find myself in the middle of the day humming "Here Comes Santa Claus" and this can be in July. I am sure there is a medical diagnosis if the condition becomes severe enough. The most common form is when one finds oneself humming the last song heard on the car radio on the way to work.
I think there may be a French word for this comdition.


#68093 04/29/02 10:32 PM
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Great question Larry!
As far as I know there is no word for this in English. German has the noun, 'ein Ohrwurm' (literally an earworm), which can either be a hook, ear candy or simply a catchy tune. But one can also have an 'Ohrwurm', i.e. be stuck with a certain song or musical phrase on one's mind. I believe French has a similar meaning word too (BelM please confirm).
Wait for others to chime in [sic], but otherwise I think you can start coming up with your own neologism.

BTW, we all bid you welcome.


#68094 04/29/02 10:35 PM
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Dear Doctor, I notice you are a retired physician--a shrink perhaps? I don't believe my condition is that bad "yet". Haven't you ever found yourself humming a tune that has come unbidden to your mind? Perhaps even humming it silently and only to yourself. Please Doc, tell me I'm not crazy, please!


#68095 04/29/02 10:40 PM
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Chris, Thanks for the welcome. Your response leads me to believe I am barking up the right tree. Ear Worm -- I like it.


#68096 04/29/02 10:40 PM
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Well, monomania is a mental condition in which a poor soul can only think about one thing--and thinks about it obsessively.

So, how 'bout sonomania for thinking about one song?

Beat regards,
WordWhirling


#68097 04/29/02 10:44 PM
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Word Wind, But, my dear, it is not just one song -- it could be any song. But it is just one song at a time, that's true.


#68098 04/29/02 10:52 PM
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Dear LG: my initial impression was that it was the same tune all the time. If not, it is trivial. I was an institutional psychiatrist, not a glamours have couch will travel. My boss, a terrible Teuton, called me obsessive-compulsive for behaviour much less bizarre than his.


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