Living with synaesthesia: The condition that makes you smell words and taste colours

When Abi was eight-years-old, she said to her mum about how lovely the colours were when she played the piano. Her mum said: “What do you mean, the colours?”

At school, Abi was distracted by bright auras every time someone spoke. The 19-year-old recalls putting her hand up in class once to explain her experiences. “Suddenly I realised that twenty people were looking at me, as if to say ‘who is this weirdo in my class?’ That’s when I realised that people don’t always understand what I have.”

But Abi was not hallucinating, nor are her experiences unusual. Law second year Abi Watt from Strathclyde University is one of millions of people who – whether they know it or not – see the world in a different way to most, through a condition called synaesthesia.

Law student Abi Watt from Strathclyde University sees sound in colour

In fact, scientists estimate that four per cent of the population have some form of synaesthesia, a neurological condition where stimulation of one sense leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sense.

Synaesthetes, people who have the condition, may experience any combination of the senses, from associating letters and numbers with colour – the most common form – to seeing music.

Many report a eureka moment when they first discovered there was a word for their unusual thoughts. For some, this may come after years of misunderstanding at home, in school or at university.

President of the UK Synaesthesia Association James Wannerton, who has a rare form of the condition that sees him taste words. He said: “I’m just trying to make people aware of the name synaesthesia itself. Out of one hundred students, there are going to be at least four in there. I don’t care if people say it’s a disorder, because I know it’s not.

“I love it because it adds something. It’s not a God-given gift, but I can look at a cup and get something extra out of it, because I get a taste as well. So I’m getting more than anybody else. And that’s fine by me. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

President of the UK Synaesthesia Association James Wannerton created his own ‘taste map’ of the London underground, according to his rare form of the condition

Research has shown that those with the condition tend to be the more creative types. Singers Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams, Charli XCX and Kanye West have all reported music-related forms of synaesthesia.

“I love music that’s black, pink, purple or red,” Charli XCX once told the BBC. “But I hate music that’s green, yellow or brown.” Lady Gaga once described her song “poker face” as “a wall of yellow”.

Teacher Paul Harris from the Royal Academy of Music says he became interested in the condition after teaching a number of synaesthetes who see specific colours for certain notes.

He said: “They may just think it’s a slight-of-fancy or an over-egged imagination, whereas actually it’s something that’s much more scientifically understood.”

Caitlin McErlean associates letters with colours. The Durham languages student is a keen musician, and believes her sound-colour synesthesia stems from a book she used to learn notes at the age of four.

She said: “A would be red, and B would be blue – and since then A’s always been red and B’s always been blue.

“Because things are always colours they’re just easier to remember.

“So when I learn I need to have sound in the background – colour stimulation helps me a lot.”

Durham languages student Caitlin McErlean has sound-colour synaesthesia

Glasgow student Kirsty Savage has a similar association of words with colour. “The other day I read a story called The Debutante. I started off my notes in black but realised it’s ‘obviously’ red so had to score it out and start again.

“Everyone thinks I’m insane or high as a kite.”

But Kirsty’s association of words or numbers with colour – known as grapheme-colour synaesthesia – is, in fact, the most common form.

Oxford languages student Ellie Shaw associates numbers with colours – the most common form of synaesthesia

Ellie Shaw, a French finalist at Oxford University, described her grapheme-colour synaesthesia: “Four is red, three is yellow, obviously seven is green.”

She said: “My friends find it odd and funny. But I find it funny they don’t associate stuff with colours.”

Jamie Ward, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Sussex, says that the crucial point for peers, teachers and parents is to know that the condition exists, and to recognise that it can sometimes be counter-productive for subjects such as maths and spelling.

“It’s a double-edged sword. Synaesthetes tend to have this visual style of thinking; it means they can see things better, they see colours better and see things that other people might not.

“But they are also more visually sensitive, and potentially more sensitive to migraines. We do have reports of some things being problematic – numeracy is one of the things that is reported quite commonly.”

But synaesthesia’s effects extend far beyond the classroom. Second year student Abi says her synaesthesia can affect personal relationships. “Sometimes when people have a really bright colour I’m less likely to speak to them – they tend to be quite intense people.

“My favourite colour is gold, which is funny because that’s the colour that my boyfriend is – it’s so warm and nice to be around.”

Second year student Abi says her synaesthesia can affect personal relationships and her experience of clubbing

Glasgow student Kirsty described similar experiences: “Sometimes I get bad vibes off strangers because they trigger a horrible colour like ashy brown. Obviously if they turn out to be nice it negates that.”

And as a student, Abi said her synaesthesia has had a profound effect on her experience of going out. “I do like clubbing, because I see colour all the time. But sometimes I do get a headache.

“This one time we went to a club in Glasgow called Sub Club, where the speakers are underneath the floor. With all the noise and the lights I literally could not open my eyes. It was kind of scary.”

Does this sound familiar? Take this online synaesthesia test to find out if you too are a synaesthete.