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What is Synesthesia?

Synesthesia is when you hear music, but you see shapes. Or you hear a word or a name and instantly see a color. Synesthesia is a fancy name for when you experience one of your senses through another. For example, you might hear the name "Alex" and see green. Or you might read the word "street" and taste citrus fruit.

The word "synesthesia" has Greek roots. It translates to “perceive together.” People who have this ability are called synesthetes. Synesthesia isn’t a disease or disorder. It won’t harm your health, and it doesn’t mean you’re mentally ill. Some studies suggest people who have it may do better on memory and intelligence tests than those who don’t. And while it may seem easy to make up, there’s proof that it’s a real condition.

One of the most common responses is to see letters, numbers, or sounds as colors. You might also:

- See or hear a word and taste food

- See a shape and taste food

- Hear sounds and see shapes or patterns

- Hear sounds after you smell a certain scent

- Hear sounds and taste food

- Feel an object with your hands and hear a sound

- Feel a touch when seeing someone else being touched. (This is called mirror touch.)

You might have more than one response.

It can be an annoyance. Children say it can make reading tricky when they see colors that other people don’t. If you have taste-related synesthesia, it can be startling when a bad taste comes on suddenly. But most synesthetes see their condition as a sixth sense, not a drawback.