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Symptoms of Synesthesia

There are multiple types of synesthesia, all with different symptoms. Grapheme-color synesthesia, where you connect letters and days of the week with colors, may be the most well-known. But there’s also sound-to-color synesthesia, number-form synesthesia, and many others. You may have only one type of synesthesia, or a combination of a few kinds.

People who have any type of synesthesia tend to have these common symptoms:

- involuntary perceptions that cross over between senses (tasting shapes, hearing colors, etc.)

- sensory triggers that consistently and predictably cause interplay between senses (e.g., every time you see the letter A, you see it in red)

- ability to describe their unusual perceptions to other people

If you have synesthesia, you may be more likely to be left-handed and have a strong interest in visual arts or music. It would appear that synesthesia is more commonTrusted Source in women than in men.

Testing for Synesthesia

You can take a free online assessment to see if you have synesthesia, but this should be approached with caution. You can also ask yourself a few questions to begin the diagnosis process if you believe you experience the condition.

When you envision the letter “A”, does your mind assign a color to the letter? Go through the entire alphabet, envisioning each letter, observing the color it appears to you in your mind and writing it down. Repeat the exercise an hour or two later. Do the individual letters appear to be mostly the same color every time you envision them? If they are, you could have synesthesia.

Put on classical music and close your eyes. Choose a song that you aren’t familiar with before you relax and see what comes into your field of vision. What color is the music? Do the instruments each seem to have a different color? Do you have a strong visual component alongside what you’re hearing? If you do, you could have synesthesia.